In contrast to last season’s inexorable progress to a clean sweep of the domestic honours, Celtic have had to break step during this campaign and did so again in a game which saw St Johnstone – not for the first time in recent seasons under Tommy Wright – leave the east end of Glasgow with reward to show for their efforts. The outcome of a goalless contest was, nevertheless, a reminder that championships can be acquired in diverse fashions. Celtic shed two points yet found themselves better off than they had been before the weekend because, yet again, the nearest contenders were unable to muster the victories that would have put at least a nominal degree of pressure on them. When Celtic lost at Kilmarnock at the start of the month Rangers lost at home to Hibernian. On Saturday, Aberdeen had the opportunity to move to within five points of the leaders, a prospect which evaporated when they were deservedly beaten 2-0 by Hibs at Easter Road. The upshot is that Celtic, despite failing to score at home in a league fixture for only the second time under Brendan Rodgers, are now nine points clear of Rangers, who overtook Aberdeen on goal difference with their 5-3 win at Hamilton. If Celtic are not invincible in Scotland, as they were last season, their horizons have expanded to include the possibility of Europa League football in the last 16 of the competition next month. History has demonstrated that expeditions to Russia are notoriously hazardous but Rodgers exercised the opportunity to harbour his resources ahead of Thursday’s return leg meeting with Zenit in St Petersburg, where Celtic will attempt to capitalise on the 1-0 lead posted at home in the first instalment. Celtic made no fewer than seven changes from the Europa League match, with only Dorus de Vries, Kris Ajer, Callum McGregor and Eboue Kouassi retained for the visit of a St Johnstone side coming off the back of three successive defeats. McGregor and Kouassi, though, were switched from advanced midfield positions to fill the holding roles usually taken by Olivier Ntcham and Scott Brown. Tom Rogic was back in action Credit: PA The use of squad players was notable at full-back, where Cristiam Gamboa and Calvin Miller were summoned from the fringes of the squad. One particularly heartening inclusion was that of Tom Rogic, back on his familiar beat behind the front three for the first time since the 1-0 home defeat by Anderlecht in the Champions League, after which he sustained a disruptive knee injury. The Australian looked entirely comfortable during an opening spell of almost complete Celtic dominance when, for 10 minutes, Saints could scarcely get a touch on the ball. For all their command of possession, though, the Hoops managed only a single attempt on target, when Ajer met a free kick from the right with a header that was parried by Alan Mannus and nodded clear by Steve Anderson. To the audible frustration of the home support, the visitors began to break out of the quarantine zone around their own penalty area and fashioned a series of alarms at the other end of the field. This switch was signalled by a cross from David Wotherspoon headed narrowly over by Blair Alston, followed immediately by a free kick touched by Wotherspoon to Richard Foster, whose drive from the edge of the box swept just high of the crossbar. St Johnstone came close on two more occasions, with another Wotherspoon delivery that squirmed narrowly past the post and then an Alston delivery pitched fractionally too high. The second half simply extended the pattern of the first and, as the proceedings wore on, Rodgers attempted to break the deadlock from the bench in the form of Kieran Tierney, James Forrest and Moussa Dembele. St Johnstone’s response was to replace George Williams with Matty Willock and the on-loan Manchester United midfielder might have put his team in front when he burrowed behind the Hoops defence had he chosen to shoot rather than cut back to Steven MacLean. As it was, while Celtic conserved their energy for Zenit, Saints departed with an unanticipated bonus in their battle to clear the relegation zone.

In contrast to last season’s inexorable progress to a clean sweep of the domestic honours, Celtic have had to break step during this campaign and did so again in a game which saw St Johnstone – not for the first time in recent seasons under Tommy Wright – leave the east end of Glasgow with reward to show for their efforts. The outcome of a goalless contest was, nevertheless, a reminder that championships can be acquired in diverse fashions. Celtic shed two points yet found themselves better off than they had been before the weekend because, yet again, the nearest contenders were unable to muster the victories that would have put at least a nominal degree of pressure on them. When Celtic lost at Kilmarnock at the start of the month Rangers lost at home to Hibernian. On Saturday, Aberdeen had the opportunity to move to within five points of the leaders, a prospect which evaporated when they were deservedly beaten 2-0 by Hibs at Easter Road. The upshot is that Celtic, despite failing to score at home in a league fixture for only the second time under Brendan Rodgers, are now nine points clear of Rangers, who overtook Aberdeen on goal difference with their 5-3 win at Hamilton. If Celtic are not invincible in Scotland, as they were last season, their horizons have expanded to include the possibility of Europa League football in the last 16 of the competition next month. History has demonstrated that expeditions to Russia are notoriously hazardous but Rodgers exercised the opportunity to harbour his resources ahead of Thursday’s return leg meeting with Zenit in St Petersburg, where Celtic will attempt to capitalise on the 1-0 lead posted at home in the first instalment. Celtic made no fewer than seven changes from the Europa League match, with only Dorus de Vries, Kris Ajer, Callum McGregor and Eboue Kouassi retained for the visit of a St Johnstone side coming off the back of three successive defeats. McGregor and Kouassi, though, were switched from advanced midfield positions to fill the holding roles usually taken by Olivier Ntcham and Scott Brown. Tom Rogic was back in action Credit: PA The use of squad players was notable at full-back, where Cristiam Gamboa and Calvin Miller were summoned from the fringes of the squad. One particularly heartening inclusion was that of Tom Rogic, back on his familiar beat behind the front three for the first time since the 1-0 home defeat by Anderlecht in the Champions League, after which he sustained a disruptive knee injury. The Australian looked entirely comfortable during an opening spell of almost complete Celtic dominance when, for 10 minutes, Saints could scarcely get a touch on the ball. For all their command of possession, though, the Hoops managed only a single attempt on target, when Ajer met a free kick from the right with a header that was parried by Alan Mannus and nodded clear by Steve Anderson. To the audible frustration of the home support, the visitors began to break out of the quarantine zone around their own penalty area and fashioned a series of alarms at the other end of the field. This switch was signalled by a cross from David Wotherspoon headed narrowly over by Blair Alston, followed immediately by a free kick touched by Wotherspoon to Richard Foster, whose drive from the edge of the box swept just high of the crossbar. St Johnstone came close on two more occasions, with another Wotherspoon delivery that squirmed narrowly past the post and then an Alston delivery pitched fractionally too high. The second half simply extended the pattern of the first and, as the proceedings wore on, Rodgers attempted to break the deadlock from the bench in the form of Kieran Tierney, James Forrest and Moussa Dembele. St Johnstone’s response was to replace George Williams with Matty Willock and the on-loan Manchester United midfielder might have put his team in front when he burrowed behind the Hoops defence had he chosen to shoot rather than cut back to Steven MacLean. As it was, while Celtic conserved their energy for Zenit, Saints departed with an unanticipated bonus in their battle to clear the relegation zone.

Alex McLeish backs calls for Scotland to remain at Hampden Park

Alex McLeish backed Hampden Park to remain Scotland’s home ground as he began the preparations for his second spell as national manager. The Scottish Football Association are in the process of considering whether to remain at Hampden – where their administrative offices are based, alongside those of the Scottish Professional Football League – or switch major internationals and Scottish Cup finals to Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby. The stadium in Mount Florida saw McLeish win many of 77 Scotland caps between 1980 and 1993 and it was there that he scored in Aberdeen’s 4-1 Scottish Cup final victory over Rangers on his 200th appearance for the Dons. “I would like to stay here,” McLeish said. “If it is a question of modernisation, sometimes we have to move forward but I’ve got to say it would be hard to leave Hampden.” The venerable ground will be the venue for the first contest of McLeish’s second tenure in charge when the Scots host Costa Rica in a Friday night friendly on March 23. The countries have met only once and recollections of the occasion are painful for McLeish, who was a member of the Scotland side beaten 1-0 by Costa Rica in the Italia ’90 World Cup finals. It is a measure of the decline in Scotland’s fortunes that 28 years ago a defeat in the finals of a major tournament was regarded as a calamity. “The front of the Daily Record was brilliant - or when I look back on it now it was brilliant!” said McLeish. “It was a big picture of the world with ‘Stop the World, we want to get aff!’ written on it. Then there were a few faces which “had to go” and I was one of them. “Fortunately, we redeemed ourselves against Sweden but it was a very apprehensive game. Now, after 22 years of not being at a big tournament we would bite your hand off to do it. “Everyone would be grateful for an early exit just because it would mean that we are there at last but, in saying that, in those days and even now, you always have to be ambitious. “When we got there, we tried to get to the next stage, even if we never quite made that. Just to get to three finals in my playing days was a fantastic feeling.” Scotland failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia after a 2-2 in Slovenia Credit: PA Given that the transition from Gordon Strachan to McLeish is also a handover from one former Aberdeen player to another who was a Pittodrie team mate, it is possible to wonder if there will be discernible difference between the two regimes. “I have spoken about attention to detail,” said McLeish. “I'm not saying Gordon didn't do that but I believe that a year on - and a tournament - a lot of the lads were involved in these games and you would expect them to learn from that. What I can do is empower players. “How do you empower them? You can show things they have done well to give them the chest puffed out but you can also show them things from the past that they could have done better. These are the little details. “I am not discarding anybody at the moment. I believe there are little tweaks that can happen. A lot of them play in England at the highest level and I've seen a huge difference with a lot of the young players who are coming through in Scotland so, having moved on a season, I feel it's time to qualify for the finals of Euro 2020.” Martin Boyle celebrates scoring the opening goal for Hibernian Credit: Getty Images Two of McLeish’s former clubs met in the game of the day at Easter Road, where Hibs – whom he managed between 1998 and 2001 – hosted Aberdeen, who were bidding for a win that would cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to five points ahead of today’s (Sun) home outing against St Johnstone. By way of contrast, Celtic’s advantage over Aberdeen on the same weekend last year was a massive 27 points from one game fewer played. Easter Road accommodated 17,205 spectators and, after a goalless first half, the home fans celebrated when Hibs netted within a minute of the restart. Jamie Maclaren had two efforts blocked by Freddie Woodman but the rebound from his second attempt was headed home by Martin Boyle. Hibs doubled their advantage om the hour when a Martin Boyle shot diverted into the path of Florian Kamberi, who found the mark from close range. Elsewhere, two late goals by Simon Murray thwarted Partick Thistle, for whom Conor Sammon had struck the opener just before half time. Kilmarnock’s fine run continued at Fir Park where Stephen O’Donnell’s strike saw the Ayrshire side leapfrog Motherwell into the top six of the Scottish Premiership table.

Alex McLeish backs calls for Scotland to remain at Hampden Park

Alex McLeish backed Hampden Park to remain Scotland’s home ground as he began the preparations for his second spell as national manager. The Scottish Football Association are in the process of considering whether to remain at Hampden – where their administrative offices are based, alongside those of the Scottish Professional Football League – or switch major internationals and Scottish Cup finals to Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby. The stadium in Mount Florida saw McLeish win many of 77 Scotland caps between 1980 and 1993 and it was there that he scored in Aberdeen’s 4-1 Scottish Cup final victory over Rangers on his 200th appearance for the Dons. “I would like to stay here,” McLeish said. “If it is a question of modernisation, sometimes we have to move forward but I’ve got to say it would be hard to leave Hampden.” The venerable ground will be the venue for the first contest of McLeish’s second tenure in charge when the Scots host Costa Rica in a Friday night friendly on March 23. The countries have met only once and recollections of the occasion are painful for McLeish, who was a member of the Scotland side beaten 1-0 by Costa Rica in the Italia ’90 World Cup finals. It is a measure of the decline in Scotland’s fortunes that 28 years ago a defeat in the finals of a major tournament was regarded as a calamity. “The front of the Daily Record was brilliant - or when I look back on it now it was brilliant!” said McLeish. “It was a big picture of the world with ‘Stop the World, we want to get aff!’ written on it. Then there were a few faces which “had to go” and I was one of them. “Fortunately, we redeemed ourselves against Sweden but it was a very apprehensive game. Now, after 22 years of not being at a big tournament we would bite your hand off to do it. “Everyone would be grateful for an early exit just because it would mean that we are there at last but, in saying that, in those days and even now, you always have to be ambitious. “When we got there, we tried to get to the next stage, even if we never quite made that. Just to get to three finals in my playing days was a fantastic feeling.” Scotland failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia after a 2-2 in Slovenia Credit: PA Given that the transition from Gordon Strachan to McLeish is also a handover from one former Aberdeen player to another who was a Pittodrie team mate, it is possible to wonder if there will be discernible difference between the two regimes. “I have spoken about attention to detail,” said McLeish. “I'm not saying Gordon didn't do that but I believe that a year on - and a tournament - a lot of the lads were involved in these games and you would expect them to learn from that. What I can do is empower players. “How do you empower them? You can show things they have done well to give them the chest puffed out but you can also show them things from the past that they could have done better. These are the little details. “I am not discarding anybody at the moment. I believe there are little tweaks that can happen. A lot of them play in England at the highest level and I've seen a huge difference with a lot of the young players who are coming through in Scotland so, having moved on a season, I feel it's time to qualify for the finals of Euro 2020.” Martin Boyle celebrates scoring the opening goal for Hibernian Credit: Getty Images Two of McLeish’s former clubs met in the game of the day at Easter Road, where Hibs – whom he managed between 1998 and 2001 – hosted Aberdeen, who were bidding for a win that would cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to five points ahead of today’s (Sun) home outing against St Johnstone. By way of contrast, Celtic’s advantage over Aberdeen on the same weekend last year was a massive 27 points from one game fewer played. Easter Road accommodated 17,205 spectators and, after a goalless first half, the home fans celebrated when Hibs netted within a minute of the restart. Jamie Maclaren had two efforts blocked by Freddie Woodman but the rebound from his second attempt was headed home by Martin Boyle. Hibs doubled their advantage om the hour when a Martin Boyle shot diverted into the path of Florian Kamberi, who found the mark from close range. Elsewhere, two late goals by Simon Murray thwarted Partick Thistle, for whom Conor Sammon had struck the opener just before half time. Kilmarnock’s fine run continued at Fir Park where Stephen O’Donnell’s strike saw the Ayrshire side leapfrog Motherwell into the top six of the Scottish Premiership table.

Alex McLeish backs calls for Scotland to remain at Hampden Park

Alex McLeish backed Hampden Park to remain Scotland’s home ground as he began the preparations for his second spell as national manager. The Scottish Football Association are in the process of considering whether to remain at Hampden – where their administrative offices are based, alongside those of the Scottish Professional Football League – or switch major internationals and Scottish Cup finals to Murrayfield, the home of Scottish rugby. The stadium in Mount Florida saw McLeish win many of 77 Scotland caps between 1980 and 1993 and it was there that he scored in Aberdeen’s 4-1 Scottish Cup final victory over Rangers on his 200th appearance for the Dons. “I would like to stay here,” McLeish said. “If it is a question of modernisation, sometimes we have to move forward but I’ve got to say it would be hard to leave Hampden.” The venerable ground will be the venue for the first contest of McLeish’s second tenure in charge when the Scots host Costa Rica in a Friday night friendly on March 23. The countries have met only once and recollections of the occasion are painful for McLeish, who was a member of the Scotland side beaten 1-0 by Costa Rica in the Italia ’90 World Cup finals. It is a measure of the decline in Scotland’s fortunes that 28 years ago a defeat in the finals of a major tournament was regarded as a calamity. “The front of the Daily Record was brilliant - or when I look back on it now it was brilliant!” said McLeish. “It was a big picture of the world with ‘Stop the World, we want to get aff!’ written on it. Then there were a few faces which “had to go” and I was one of them. “Fortunately, we redeemed ourselves against Sweden but it was a very apprehensive game. Now, after 22 years of not being at a big tournament we would bite your hand off to do it. “Everyone would be grateful for an early exit just because it would mean that we are there at last but, in saying that, in those days and even now, you always have to be ambitious. “When we got there, we tried to get to the next stage, even if we never quite made that. Just to get to three finals in my playing days was a fantastic feeling.” Scotland failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia after a 2-2 in Slovenia Credit: PA Given that the transition from Gordon Strachan to McLeish is also a handover from one former Aberdeen player to another who was a Pittodrie team mate, it is possible to wonder if there will be discernible difference between the two regimes. “I have spoken about attention to detail,” said McLeish. “I'm not saying Gordon didn't do that but I believe that a year on - and a tournament - a lot of the lads were involved in these games and you would expect them to learn from that. What I can do is empower players. “How do you empower them? You can show things they have done well to give them the chest puffed out but you can also show them things from the past that they could have done better. These are the little details. “I am not discarding anybody at the moment. I believe there are little tweaks that can happen. A lot of them play in England at the highest level and I've seen a huge difference with a lot of the young players who are coming through in Scotland so, having moved on a season, I feel it's time to qualify for the finals of Euro 2020.” Martin Boyle celebrates scoring the opening goal for Hibernian Credit: Getty Images Two of McLeish’s former clubs met in the game of the day at Easter Road, where Hibs – whom he managed between 1998 and 2001 – hosted Aberdeen, who were bidding for a win that would cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to five points ahead of today’s (Sun) home outing against St Johnstone. By way of contrast, Celtic’s advantage over Aberdeen on the same weekend last year was a massive 27 points from one game fewer played. Easter Road accommodated 17,205 spectators and, after a goalless first half, the home fans celebrated when Hibs netted within a minute of the restart. Jamie Maclaren had two efforts blocked by Freddie Woodman but the rebound from his second attempt was headed home by Martin Boyle. Hibs doubled their advantage om the hour when a Martin Boyle shot diverted into the path of Florian Kamberi, who found the mark from close range. Elsewhere, two late goals by Simon Murray thwarted Partick Thistle, for whom Conor Sammon had struck the opener just before half time. Kilmarnock’s fine run continued at Fir Park where Stephen O’Donnell’s strike saw the Ayrshire side leapfrog Motherwell into the top six of the Scottish Premiership table.

Celtic's injury list for Zenit St Petersburg tie grows with Nir Bitton ruled out for season

Nir Bitton is likely to be out of action for the rest of the season, Brendan Rodgers revealed as he assessed Celtic’s injury-blighted squad prior to Thursday's Europa League meeting with Zenit St Petersburg at Parkhead in the first leg of their round of 32 tie. The Israeli midfielder joins a casualty list that would constitute the better part of a decent domestic team, as the Celtic manager acknowledged wryly when he said: “They could have won a treble last year!” Others out of contention are Craig Gordon, Anthony Ralston, Dedryck Boyata, Stuart Armstrong, Patrick Roberts, Johnny Hayes and Leigh Griffiths. Tom Rogic has been named in the Celtic squad but will not start and could yet be held back for the visit of St Johnstone on Sunday. Marvin Compper is ineligible. “Overall, this year has been - in terms of injuries - tough,” Rodgers said. “Nir Bitton will probably be out for the season which is a blow for us. He has an issue with his knee and probably needs an operation and that is probably him for the rest of the season. It is a shame for Nir because he has been an important member of our squad. “We are hoping some of the others will be back sooner rather than later.” Roberts, on loan from Manchester City, has gone back to his parent club to have a troublesome hamstring injury monitored. Griffiths aside, the forward areas of the team are relatively unscathed, in terms of those who could command a regular starting place, but the Hoops defence is a serious concern, especially against a Zenit side who finished the group stage as top scorers in the competition with 17 goals. Patrick Roberts has returned to Man City for treatment Credit: Reuters Beaten by Kilmarnock in a Scottish Premiership fixture at Rugby Park, Celtic recovered to win 3-2 against Partick Thistle in last weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round tie but the Jags got their goals through frailty in the Hoops' back line and came very close to forcing a replay in injury time when Ryan Edwards was thwarted by an outstanding challenge by Kieran Tierney. “You are trying to map out with the players, as often as you can, that you have to be concentrated in every single game you play, but sometimes we give away soft goals purely on concentration level, nothing else,” Rodgers said. “We have shown we can defend really well and normally in the big games we do, but when you come to this level it is different. “Domestically, you can maybe assess the position and come away. At this level you have got to keep checking your space because the minute you come away from it and you don’t check they are gone. “We saw a goal against Bayern Munich like that. Our centre half checks the winger, thinks he is in good position, doesn’t check again for a few seconds and when he looks back he’s gone. Coman is in and scores. “Zenit are a very good team. If you look at how they play, they are what you would consider to be a top European team with speed, power, technique and ability. They obviously have all of that. They will expect to do very, very well in the competition having won five of their six group games to get through to this stage.” Despite superior firepower and a costlier squad than Celtic, if Zenit are at any disadvantage it is that they are coming off a prolonged spell without competitive football since a Russian Premier League fixture away to Akhmat which finished goalless on December 11. Brendan Rodgers is preparing his side for a tough Europa League tie Credit: Reuters When Celtic have been obliged to play early European qualifiers in July, it has been routine to cite the absence of competitive fixtures as a drawback when playing against opponents who are in mid-season. Rodgers, however, declined to accept that the same stricture should apply to Zenit. “The break could maybe freshen them and revitalise them and then they go again,” he said. “It just depends. We have the same experience in pre-season when you are not in top condition, but you can still be at a good level.” Of his opposite number, Roberto Mancini, Rodgers said: "Normally Italian coaches are very much set in a defensive block and their shape is hard to break down. Roberto is a bit more aggressive. Zenit play 4-3-3 and press the game higher at times.” In the absence of so many experienced performers, it would be a significant bonus for Celtic if Moussa Dembele could rediscover his exciting early-season form. James Forrest, on recent form, has the capacity to trouble Mancini’s side but, even in Europe’s secondary tournament, the task facing Celtic remains one that induces a degree of pessimism, even allowing for the legendary backing of the home crowd. Probably line-ups Celtic (4-2-3-1): De Vries; Gamboa, Simunovic, Ajer, Tierney; Ntcham, Brown; Forrest, McGregor, Sinclair; Dembele. Zenit St Petersburg (4-3-3): Lodigin; Criscito, Mevlja, Ivanovic, Smolnikov; Kranevitter, Noboa, Yerokhin; Poloz, Kokorin, Rigoni.

Celtic's injury list for Zenit St Petersburg tie grows with Nir Bitton ruled out for season

Nir Bitton is likely to be out of action for the rest of the season, Brendan Rodgers revealed as he assessed Celtic’s injury-blighted squad prior to Thursday's Europa League meeting with Zenit St Petersburg at Parkhead in the first leg of their round of 32 tie. The Israeli midfielder joins a casualty list that would constitute the better part of a decent domestic team, as the Celtic manager acknowledged wryly when he said: “They could have won a treble last year!” Others out of contention are Craig Gordon, Anthony Ralston, Dedryck Boyata, Stuart Armstrong, Patrick Roberts, Johnny Hayes and Leigh Griffiths. Tom Rogic has been named in the Celtic squad but will not start and could yet be held back for the visit of St Johnstone on Sunday. Marvin Compper is ineligible. “Overall, this year has been - in terms of injuries - tough,” Rodgers said. “Nir Bitton will probably be out for the season which is a blow for us. He has an issue with his knee and probably needs an operation and that is probably him for the rest of the season. It is a shame for Nir because he has been an important member of our squad. “We are hoping some of the others will be back sooner rather than later.” Roberts, on loan from Manchester City, has gone back to his parent club to have a troublesome hamstring injury monitored. Griffiths aside, the forward areas of the team are relatively unscathed, in terms of those who could command a regular starting place, but the Hoops defence is a serious concern, especially against a Zenit side who finished the group stage as top scorers in the competition with 17 goals. Patrick Roberts has returned to Man City for treatment Credit: Reuters Beaten by Kilmarnock in a Scottish Premiership fixture at Rugby Park, Celtic recovered to win 3-2 against Partick Thistle in last weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round tie but the Jags got their goals through frailty in the Hoops' back line and came very close to forcing a replay in injury time when Ryan Edwards was thwarted by an outstanding challenge by Kieran Tierney. “You are trying to map out with the players, as often as you can, that you have to be concentrated in every single game you play, but sometimes we give away soft goals purely on concentration level, nothing else,” Rodgers said. “We have shown we can defend really well and normally in the big games we do, but when you come to this level it is different. “Domestically, you can maybe assess the position and come away. At this level you have got to keep checking your space because the minute you come away from it and you don’t check they are gone. “We saw a goal against Bayern Munich like that. Our centre half checks the winger, thinks he is in good position, doesn’t check again for a few seconds and when he looks back he’s gone. Coman is in and scores. “Zenit are a very good team. If you look at how they play, they are what you would consider to be a top European team with speed, power, technique and ability. They obviously have all of that. They will expect to do very, very well in the competition having won five of their six group games to get through to this stage.” Despite superior firepower and a costlier squad than Celtic, if Zenit are at any disadvantage it is that they are coming off a prolonged spell without competitive football since a Russian Premier League fixture away to Akhmat which finished goalless on December 11. Brendan Rodgers is preparing his side for a tough Europa League tie Credit: Reuters When Celtic have been obliged to play early European qualifiers in July, it has been routine to cite the absence of competitive fixtures as a drawback when playing against opponents who are in mid-season. Rodgers, however, declined to accept that the same stricture should apply to Zenit. “The break could maybe freshen them and revitalise them and then they go again,” he said. “It just depends. We have the same experience in pre-season when you are not in top condition, but you can still be at a good level.” Of his opposite number, Roberto Mancini, Rodgers said: "Normally Italian coaches are very much set in a defensive block and their shape is hard to break down. Roberto is a bit more aggressive. Zenit play 4-3-3 and press the game higher at times.” In the absence of so many experienced performers, it would be a significant bonus for Celtic if Moussa Dembele could rediscover his exciting early-season form. James Forrest, on recent form, has the capacity to trouble Mancini’s side but, even in Europe’s secondary tournament, the task facing Celtic remains one that induces a degree of pessimism, even allowing for the legendary backing of the home crowd. Probably line-ups Celtic (4-2-3-1): De Vries; Gamboa, Simunovic, Ajer, Tierney; Ntcham, Brown; Forrest, McGregor, Sinclair; Dembele. Zenit St Petersburg (4-3-3): Lodigin; Criscito, Mevlja, Ivanovic, Smolnikov; Kranevitter, Noboa, Yerokhin; Poloz, Kokorin, Rigoni.

Celtic's injury list for Zenit St Petersburg tie grows with Nir Bitton ruled out for season

Nir Bitton is likely to be out of action for the rest of the season, Brendan Rodgers revealed as he assessed Celtic’s injury-blighted squad prior to Thursday's Europa League meeting with Zenit St Petersburg at Parkhead in the first leg of their round of 32 tie. The Israeli midfielder joins a casualty list that would constitute the better part of a decent domestic team, as the Celtic manager acknowledged wryly when he said: “They could have won a treble last year!” Others out of contention are Craig Gordon, Anthony Ralston, Dedryck Boyata, Stuart Armstrong, Patrick Roberts, Johnny Hayes and Leigh Griffiths. Tom Rogic has been named in the Celtic squad but will not start and could yet be held back for the visit of St Johnstone on Sunday. Marvin Compper is ineligible. “Overall, this year has been - in terms of injuries - tough,” Rodgers said. “Nir Bitton will probably be out for the season which is a blow for us. He has an issue with his knee and probably needs an operation and that is probably him for the rest of the season. It is a shame for Nir because he has been an important member of our squad. “We are hoping some of the others will be back sooner rather than later.” Roberts, on loan from Manchester City, has gone back to his parent club to have a troublesome hamstring injury monitored. Griffiths aside, the forward areas of the team are relatively unscathed, in terms of those who could command a regular starting place, but the Hoops defence is a serious concern, especially against a Zenit side who finished the group stage as top scorers in the competition with 17 goals. Patrick Roberts has returned to Man City for treatment Credit: Reuters Beaten by Kilmarnock in a Scottish Premiership fixture at Rugby Park, Celtic recovered to win 3-2 against Partick Thistle in last weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round tie but the Jags got their goals through frailty in the Hoops' back line and came very close to forcing a replay in injury time when Ryan Edwards was thwarted by an outstanding challenge by Kieran Tierney. “You are trying to map out with the players, as often as you can, that you have to be concentrated in every single game you play, but sometimes we give away soft goals purely on concentration level, nothing else,” Rodgers said. “We have shown we can defend really well and normally in the big games we do, but when you come to this level it is different. “Domestically, you can maybe assess the position and come away. At this level you have got to keep checking your space because the minute you come away from it and you don’t check they are gone. “We saw a goal against Bayern Munich like that. Our centre half checks the winger, thinks he is in good position, doesn’t check again for a few seconds and when he looks back he’s gone. Coman is in and scores. “Zenit are a very good team. If you look at how they play, they are what you would consider to be a top European team with speed, power, technique and ability. They obviously have all of that. They will expect to do very, very well in the competition having won five of their six group games to get through to this stage.” Despite superior firepower and a costlier squad than Celtic, if Zenit are at any disadvantage it is that they are coming off a prolonged spell without competitive football since a Russian Premier League fixture away to Akhmat which finished goalless on December 11. Brendan Rodgers is preparing his side for a tough Europa League tie Credit: Reuters When Celtic have been obliged to play early European qualifiers in July, it has been routine to cite the absence of competitive fixtures as a drawback when playing against opponents who are in mid-season. Rodgers, however, declined to accept that the same stricture should apply to Zenit. “The break could maybe freshen them and revitalise them and then they go again,” he said. “It just depends. We have the same experience in pre-season when you are not in top condition, but you can still be at a good level.” Of his opposite number, Roberto Mancini, Rodgers said: "Normally Italian coaches are very much set in a defensive block and their shape is hard to break down. Roberto is a bit more aggressive. Zenit play 4-3-3 and press the game higher at times.” In the absence of so many experienced performers, it would be a significant bonus for Celtic if Moussa Dembele could rediscover his exciting early-season form. James Forrest, on recent form, has the capacity to trouble Mancini’s side but, even in Europe’s secondary tournament, the task facing Celtic remains one that induces a degree of pessimism, even allowing for the legendary backing of the home crowd. Probably line-ups Celtic (4-2-3-1): De Vries; Gamboa, Simunovic, Ajer, Tierney; Ntcham, Brown; Forrest, McGregor, Sinclair; Dembele. Zenit St Petersburg (4-3-3): Lodigin; Criscito, Mevlja, Ivanovic, Smolnikov; Kranevitter, Noboa, Yerokhin; Poloz, Kokorin, Rigoni.

As Celtic seek their first European home win outside qualifying matches under Brendan Rodgers, their manager warned that Zenit St Petersburg are a stronger team than Anderlecht, who were edged out by his men for a place in the Europa League. The tournament sees Zenit – managed by Roberto Mancini who was formerly in charge of Manchester City – come to the east end of Glasgow on Thursday. Rodgers has guided Celtic to successive Champions League group stage appearances and also into the knockout stage of this season’s Europa League, but they have been unable to post a home win in six attempts against Barcelona, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Anderlecht. Their best group stage performance was the 3-0 victory over Anderlecht in Brussels, but Rodgers’ players lost the subsequent encounter at Parkhead to a Jozo Simunovic own goal. Against Zenit, Rodgers would have preferred to play the first leg in Russia. “Everyone likes the second leg at home. You know what you are playing for then,” said Rodgers. “It’s not the worst to have the first leg at home. You can try to get some sort of advantage. If you can keep a clean sheet, it gives you a real motivation going away. Brendan Rodgers is excited by the challenge his Celtic team will face in the Europa Cup Credit: Getty Images “I have looked at Zenit, and they play slightly differently from Manchester City. At Manchester City, Roberto had very much a defensive block with quality players. “It was 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 at times. This team is very clearly 4-3-3. They press the game. It is certainly a change from how his Man City team played. “Branislav Ivanovic is there, who I worked with at Chelsea. He has gone back out there and is a real linchpin for the team. He has still got good legs and strength and power and experience. “He is playing as a centre-half. That was his actual position when they brought him in to Chelsea. He ended up playing a lot at right-back and doing really well there. It is a really difficult game for us. They are a very good side.” In other circumstances, Rodgers’ CV would have included a spell as Mancini’s No 2. “Roberto had his first season at Manchester City, and I was asked to come and speak to them about maybe going in there to assist and work,” he said. “I flew out to Italy to meet him at the end of the season. We had a chat out there, then I came back, and it was a case of the Swansea position coming up, and I think Roberto was probably wanting his own man in as well. It worked out that I went to Swansea and Roberto had David Platt, whom he knew from Sampdoria.” Celtic extended the defence of their treble of domestic honours with a home victory over Partick Thistle in the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup yesterday. In contrast to their performance in the 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park the previous weekend, they got off to a racing start with a James Forrest double, the second of which saw the winger run from the halfway line for a right-foot finish beyond goalkeeper Tomas Cerny. Kyle Lafferty celebrated scoring a brace for Hearts 3-0 win over St Johnstone Credit: PA The Jags looked beaten but were revived when Simunovic played an attempted a pass back to Dorus de Vries straight into the path of Kris Doolan, who marked his 350th appearance for Thistle with a first-time left-foot chip over De Vries. When Forrest netted his hat-trick after the break, Celtic looked safe, but Connor Sammon revived Thistle’s hopes with a late close-range strike, and it took a tackle by Kieran Tierney and a clutch on the line by De Vries to prevent Ryan Edwards stealing a draw in injury time. Also into the quarter-finals are Hearts, whose 3-0 home win over St Johnstone included a Kyle Lafferty brace, and Kilmarnock, who ended Brora Rangers’ progress with a 4-0 win over at Rugby Park. The other Highland League team, Cove Rangers, were beaten 3-1 at home by Falkirk, while in the all-Premiership collision at Dens Park, Dundee lost 2-0 to Motherwell. The remaining tie of the day was at Cappielow, where Morton prevailed against their trans-Clyde rivals, Dumbarton, with goals from Frank Ross, Jack Iredale and Bob McHugh. Today’s games see Ayr United at home to Rangers and Aberdeen against Dundee United at Pittodrie, where the quarter-final draw will be made.

As Celtic seek their first European home win outside qualifying matches under Brendan Rodgers, their manager warned that Zenit St Petersburg are a stronger team than Anderlecht, who were edged out by his men for a place in the Europa League. The tournament sees Zenit – managed by Roberto Mancini who was formerly in charge of Manchester City – come to the east end of Glasgow on Thursday. Rodgers has guided Celtic to successive Champions League group stage appearances and also into the knockout stage of this season’s Europa League, but they have been unable to post a home win in six attempts against Barcelona, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Anderlecht. Their best group stage performance was the 3-0 victory over Anderlecht in Brussels, but Rodgers’ players lost the subsequent encounter at Parkhead to a Jozo Simunovic own goal. Against Zenit, Rodgers would have preferred to play the first leg in Russia. “Everyone likes the second leg at home. You know what you are playing for then,” said Rodgers. “It’s not the worst to have the first leg at home. You can try to get some sort of advantage. If you can keep a clean sheet, it gives you a real motivation going away. Brendan Rodgers is excited by the challenge his Celtic team will face in the Europa Cup Credit: Getty Images “I have looked at Zenit, and they play slightly differently from Manchester City. At Manchester City, Roberto had very much a defensive block with quality players. “It was 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 at times. This team is very clearly 4-3-3. They press the game. It is certainly a change from how his Man City team played. “Branislav Ivanovic is there, who I worked with at Chelsea. He has gone back out there and is a real linchpin for the team. He has still got good legs and strength and power and experience. “He is playing as a centre-half. That was his actual position when they brought him in to Chelsea. He ended up playing a lot at right-back and doing really well there. It is a really difficult game for us. They are a very good side.” In other circumstances, Rodgers’ CV would have included a spell as Mancini’s No 2. “Roberto had his first season at Manchester City, and I was asked to come and speak to them about maybe going in there to assist and work,” he said. “I flew out to Italy to meet him at the end of the season. We had a chat out there, then I came back, and it was a case of the Swansea position coming up, and I think Roberto was probably wanting his own man in as well. It worked out that I went to Swansea and Roberto had David Platt, whom he knew from Sampdoria.” Celtic extended the defence of their treble of domestic honours with a home victory over Partick Thistle in the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup yesterday. In contrast to their performance in the 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park the previous weekend, they got off to a racing start with a James Forrest double, the second of which saw the winger run from the halfway line for a right-foot finish beyond goalkeeper Tomas Cerny. Kyle Lafferty celebrated scoring a brace for Hearts 3-0 win over St Johnstone Credit: PA The Jags looked beaten but were revived when Simunovic played an attempted a pass back to Dorus de Vries straight into the path of Kris Doolan, who marked his 350th appearance for Thistle with a first-time left-foot chip over De Vries. When Forrest netted his hat-trick after the break, Celtic looked safe, but Connor Sammon revived Thistle’s hopes with a late close-range strike, and it took a tackle by Kieran Tierney and a clutch on the line by De Vries to prevent Ryan Edwards stealing a draw in injury time. Also into the quarter-finals are Hearts, whose 3-0 home win over St Johnstone included a Kyle Lafferty brace, and Kilmarnock, who ended Brora Rangers’ progress with a 4-0 win over at Rugby Park. The other Highland League team, Cove Rangers, were beaten 3-1 at home by Falkirk, while in the all-Premiership collision at Dens Park, Dundee lost 2-0 to Motherwell. The remaining tie of the day was at Cappielow, where Morton prevailed against their trans-Clyde rivals, Dumbarton, with goals from Frank Ross, Jack Iredale and Bob McHugh. Today’s games see Ayr United at home to Rangers and Aberdeen against Dundee United at Pittodrie, where the quarter-final draw will be made.

As Celtic seek their first European home win outside qualifying matches under Brendan Rodgers, their manager warned that Zenit St Petersburg are a stronger team than Anderlecht, who were edged out by his men for a place in the Europa League. The tournament sees Zenit – managed by Roberto Mancini who was formerly in charge of Manchester City – come to the east end of Glasgow on Thursday. Rodgers has guided Celtic to successive Champions League group stage appearances and also into the knockout stage of this season’s Europa League, but they have been unable to post a home win in six attempts against Barcelona, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Anderlecht. Their best group stage performance was the 3-0 victory over Anderlecht in Brussels, but Rodgers’ players lost the subsequent encounter at Parkhead to a Jozo Simunovic own goal. Against Zenit, Rodgers would have preferred to play the first leg in Russia. “Everyone likes the second leg at home. You know what you are playing for then,” said Rodgers. “It’s not the worst to have the first leg at home. You can try to get some sort of advantage. If you can keep a clean sheet, it gives you a real motivation going away. Brendan Rodgers is excited by the challenge his Celtic team will face in the Europa Cup Credit: Getty Images “I have looked at Zenit, and they play slightly differently from Manchester City. At Manchester City, Roberto had very much a defensive block with quality players. “It was 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 at times. This team is very clearly 4-3-3. They press the game. It is certainly a change from how his Man City team played. “Branislav Ivanovic is there, who I worked with at Chelsea. He has gone back out there and is a real linchpin for the team. He has still got good legs and strength and power and experience. “He is playing as a centre-half. That was his actual position when they brought him in to Chelsea. He ended up playing a lot at right-back and doing really well there. It is a really difficult game for us. They are a very good side.” In other circumstances, Rodgers’ CV would have included a spell as Mancini’s No 2. “Roberto had his first season at Manchester City, and I was asked to come and speak to them about maybe going in there to assist and work,” he said. “I flew out to Italy to meet him at the end of the season. We had a chat out there, then I came back, and it was a case of the Swansea position coming up, and I think Roberto was probably wanting his own man in as well. It worked out that I went to Swansea and Roberto had David Platt, whom he knew from Sampdoria.” Celtic extended the defence of their treble of domestic honours with a home victory over Partick Thistle in the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup yesterday. In contrast to their performance in the 1-0 defeat by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park the previous weekend, they got off to a racing start with a James Forrest double, the second of which saw the winger run from the halfway line for a right-foot finish beyond goalkeeper Tomas Cerny. Kyle Lafferty celebrated scoring a brace for Hearts 3-0 win over St Johnstone Credit: PA The Jags looked beaten but were revived when Simunovic played an attempted a pass back to Dorus de Vries straight into the path of Kris Doolan, who marked his 350th appearance for Thistle with a first-time left-foot chip over De Vries. When Forrest netted his hat-trick after the break, Celtic looked safe, but Connor Sammon revived Thistle’s hopes with a late close-range strike, and it took a tackle by Kieran Tierney and a clutch on the line by De Vries to prevent Ryan Edwards stealing a draw in injury time. Also into the quarter-finals are Hearts, whose 3-0 home win over St Johnstone included a Kyle Lafferty brace, and Kilmarnock, who ended Brora Rangers’ progress with a 4-0 win over at Rugby Park. The other Highland League team, Cove Rangers, were beaten 3-1 at home by Falkirk, while in the all-Premiership collision at Dens Park, Dundee lost 2-0 to Motherwell. The remaining tie of the day was at Cappielow, where Morton prevailed against their trans-Clyde rivals, Dumbarton, with goals from Frank Ross, Jack Iredale and Bob McHugh. Today’s games see Ayr United at home to Rangers and Aberdeen against Dundee United at Pittodrie, where the quarter-final draw will be made.

Craig Levein was accused by Brendan Rodgers of having an obsession about Scott Brown, after the Hearts manager returned once again to the subject of Celtic’s captain and his combative style of play. Levein had previously voiced concern about a challenge by Brown on Harry Cochrane, which put the 16-year-old Hearts midfielder out of the game with a collarbone injury before half-time in Celtic’s 3-1 victory at Parkhead on January 30. Rodgers retorted that the decision to field the teenager in such a high-intensity game was questionable, although Cochrane had scored in Hearts’ 4-0 win over the champions at Tynecastle in December. Celtic lost their second domestic match under Rodgers on Saturday at Kilmarnock, with Brown booked in the 73rd minute, prompting him to say afterwards, in reference to Levein: “He has done his job, hasn’t he? I was booked with my first foul and that is exactly what Craig was looking to do.” Levein, however, postulated the theory that Brown had deliberately drawn a yellow card to manipulate the disciplinary process ahead of the Old Firm derby at Ibrox on March 11. “If Scott didn’t get booked against Kilmarnock and got booked against St Johnstone [on 18 February] then he’d miss the Rangers game,” Levein said. The former Scotland boss added: “I’m not trying to irritate anybody. I’m just pointing stuff out. Scott Brown mentioned last week that he got booked because of me bringing to attention his proclivity to foul people. I disagree with that. “I’m just pointing out things that are obvious. I think you’ll find that his intentions were always to get himself booked in that game so he didn’t miss the Rangers match. “That sort of things happens all the time. Anybody who is sensible would look at the situation if there is a particular game they want to play in and know they need to get booked to miss a game prior to that. I did it myself when I was playing, so it happens. I don’t know Scott’s intentions, but I’m just pointing out the fact. That’s all.” Levein’s comments evoked scorn from Rodgers, who said: “He is obviously fairly obsessed by our captain. It is a credit to Scott that you’ve got another manager, who is not even playing against him, talking about him. “If that is what has been said – and I haven’t seen it yet, so I have to see it – then he might have something to answer on that.” Whether or not that was a hint to the Scottish Football Association to consider a disrepute charge against Levein is a moot point, but the long-distance exchanges might not yet have run their course. In the meantime, Celtic will attempt to expunge the memory of last weekend’s anaemic display at Rugby Park by defending one of the three trophies in their possession when they meet Partick Thistle at home in the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round on Saturday. Rodgers expressed gratitude for the rare absence of a midweek fixture. “It’s been brilliant. It was good, obviously, after the game to give the players two days off and then we were back in working,” he said. “We’ve had a great week’s training and been able to do some work which is very important. We’re now looking forward to the schedule ahead.” There was mixed news, meanwhile, about the lengthy casualty list at Parkhead. “It’s just unfortunate,” Rodgers said. “Kris Ajer should be fine, but he hurt his Achilles last week which was the same injury Nir Bitton had earlier on in the season on that surface [Rugby Park], where you can land awkwardly and it just disrupts you. “The squad is starting to piece itself back together even though we still have some injuries. We have players starting to return and hopefully that will make us really strong for the last part of the season. “We try to not cry about it or moan about it, but certainly it is a factor and it doesn’t help when there is constant change in certain areas of the field.”

Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers happy to take a break after stalemate

Even for a game of opinions, there was a striking difference in assessments of the second Old Firm derby of the season, which finished goalless on Saturday at Parkhead. Several of the press room regulars felt that it had been a lacklustre event, short of fluency because Rangers played a high press against a Celtic side who looked – not for the first time in recent weeks – somewhat jaded. On the other hand, this correspondent was part of the Radio 5 broadcast team, which included Pat Nevin as summariser and Alistair Bruce-Ball as co-commentator, and it was striking that both remarked upon the positivity of the match, compared with much of what they watch week-to-week in the Premier League in England. Even without goals – in a derby that could easily have had five or six – there was far more to compel attention in the east end of Glasgow than had been witnessed at the previous evening’s meeting of Newcastle United and Manchester City. Celtic fans left the ground less satisfied than their Rangers equivalents, although the result was better for their team in that it maintained their comfortable advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership. The Rangers contingent, meanwhile, were relieved at not having been shredded by their arch-foes – as many had feared - and optimistic that if, in his spell in charge until the end of the season, Graeme Murty can eke consistency out of his players, they might chip away at Celtic’s superiority. It remains to be seen how many personnel changes there will be on each side of the city in January. Moussa Dembele has looked for some weeks now as though he has already gone elsewhere in his head and, in that regard, the Celtic striker has a counterpart in Carlos Pena, who has never seemed comfortable since Pedro Caixinha spent £2.5 million to bring him to Rangers in the summer. James Tavernier vies with Moussa Dembele Credit: GETTY IMAGES Both camps, though, were united in welcoming the rest afforded by the Scottish Premiership’s short winter break. Brendan Rodgers has given his players a week off before heading for warm-weather training in the Middle East, while Rangers fly to the USA to take part in the Florida Cup, where they will meet Atletico and Fluminese of Brazil. “We wanted to win and we wanted to go into the break off the back of a good win and performance, but it’s been a long year for us with a lot of football,” said Stuart Armstrong, the Hoops midfielder, who played 54 games for Celtic in Scotland in 2017. “It’s been one of the busiest seasons we have had. There was not much break in the summer and now that we’re sitting here at New Year looking back on all our achievements, we should be happy and proud, but the break is important, especially when you have been playing, playing and playing over back-to-back seasons with jaded legs and jaded minds. “You could lose count of the competitions, the games, the travel - everything involved in the fixture list we have. Sometimes it’s important not to forget the intensity of our schedule. The rest will stand us in good stead going forward into the new year.” Celtic, it should not be forgotten, play six European qualifiers – a total that will rise to eight – just to get to the Champions League group stage, and have done so in both of Rodgers’ seasons in charge. Rangers, meanwhile, are simply trying to establish some sort of credibility as domestic contenders. That prospect looked even less likely when Bruno Alves limped off after 18 minutes and the veteran Portuguese centre-back was replaced by David Bates, on only his sixth appearance. The 21 year-old, however, stepped up to the mark – aided by Dembele’s sub-par performance - and was later named as Rangers’ man of the match. Asked how he responded to Rangers fans who assert that if their team had produced similar displays against Dundee, Hamilton and St Johnstone they would have converted defeats into victories to go top of the league, Bates said: “Dundee or Hamilton sit in and play on the counter-attack, so it's a completely different game, but we have taken points from the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs, so maybe we need to do better against others. “Now we go to Florida and Murts has three weeks to put across how he wants us to play. Confidence will be high for the second half of the season. We can’t wait to get started again.”

Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers happy to take a break after stalemate

Even for a game of opinions, there was a striking difference in assessments of the second Old Firm derby of the season, which finished goalless on Saturday at Parkhead. Several of the press room regulars felt that it had been a lacklustre event, short of fluency because Rangers played a high press against a Celtic side who looked – not for the first time in recent weeks – somewhat jaded. On the other hand, this correspondent was part of the Radio 5 broadcast team, which included Pat Nevin as summariser and Alistair Bruce-Ball as co-commentator, and it was striking that both remarked upon the positivity of the match, compared with much of what they watch week-to-week in the Premier League in England. Even without goals – in a derby that could easily have had five or six – there was far more to compel attention in the east end of Glasgow than had been witnessed at the previous evening’s meeting of Newcastle United and Manchester City. Celtic fans left the ground less satisfied than their Rangers equivalents, although the result was better for their team in that it maintained their comfortable advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership. The Rangers contingent, meanwhile, were relieved at not having been shredded by their arch-foes – as many had feared - and optimistic that if, in his spell in charge until the end of the season, Graeme Murty can eke consistency out of his players, they might chip away at Celtic’s superiority. It remains to be seen how many personnel changes there will be on each side of the city in January. Moussa Dembele has looked for some weeks now as though he has already gone elsewhere in his head and, in that regard, the Celtic striker has a counterpart in Carlos Pena, who has never seemed comfortable since Pedro Caixinha spent £2.5 million to bring him to Rangers in the summer. James Tavernier vies with Moussa Dembele Credit: GETTY IMAGES Both camps, though, were united in welcoming the rest afforded by the Scottish Premiership’s short winter break. Brendan Rodgers has given his players a week off before heading for warm-weather training in the Middle East, while Rangers fly to the USA to take part in the Florida Cup, where they will meet Atletico and Fluminese of Brazil. “We wanted to win and we wanted to go into the break off the back of a good win and performance, but it’s been a long year for us with a lot of football,” said Stuart Armstrong, the Hoops midfielder, who played 54 games for Celtic in Scotland in 2017. “It’s been one of the busiest seasons we have had. There was not much break in the summer and now that we’re sitting here at New Year looking back on all our achievements, we should be happy and proud, but the break is important, especially when you have been playing, playing and playing over back-to-back seasons with jaded legs and jaded minds. “You could lose count of the competitions, the games, the travel - everything involved in the fixture list we have. Sometimes it’s important not to forget the intensity of our schedule. The rest will stand us in good stead going forward into the new year.” Celtic, it should not be forgotten, play six European qualifiers – a total that will rise to eight – just to get to the Champions League group stage, and have done so in both of Rodgers’ seasons in charge. Rangers, meanwhile, are simply trying to establish some sort of credibility as domestic contenders. That prospect looked even less likely when Bruno Alves limped off after 18 minutes and the veteran Portuguese centre-back was replaced by David Bates, on only his sixth appearance. The 21 year-old, however, stepped up to the mark – aided by Dembele’s sub-par performance - and was later named as Rangers’ man of the match. Asked how he responded to Rangers fans who assert that if their team had produced similar displays against Dundee, Hamilton and St Johnstone they would have converted defeats into victories to go top of the league, Bates said: “Dundee or Hamilton sit in and play on the counter-attack, so it's a completely different game, but we have taken points from the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs, so maybe we need to do better against others. “Now we go to Florida and Murts has three weeks to put across how he wants us to play. Confidence will be high for the second half of the season. We can’t wait to get started again.”

Celtic 3 Aberdeen 0: Hoops extend league lead as Dons disappoint

There was a time, not so long ago, when mention of a meeting of the top two clubs in Scotland was shorthand for an Old Firm derby. In the continued absence of Rangers as credible contenders, the burden of mounting some form of challenge to Brendan Rodgers & Co has fallen upon Aberdeen, who responded last season by finishing as runners-up in all three domestic competitions. If that was a consistent response to the challenge, it also had the potential to be dispiriting for Derek McInnes and his squad, especially since Celtic won all six meetings of the pair and supplemented that record with a 3-0 victory at Pittodrie in which they produced their single best display of football in 2017. Aberdeen subsequently lost to Rangers home and away but McInnes rebuffed the Ibrox board’s invitation to become their manager, as he had done with Sunderland’s summer approach, prudently as events at the Stadium of Light were to demonstrate. In both instances McInnes declared that he had unfinished business at Pittodrie, which presumably included inflicting some sort of check on Celtic’s imperious progress through the Scottish fixture calendar, a desire that can only have been sharpened by recent developments. Celtic finished the 2016-17 title campaign unbeaten and having shed only eight points from 38 games. The Hoops’ attempt to take their unbeaten record in successive domestic matches to 70 was derailed spectacularly by Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend but, even before that, Celtic had dropped more points by the mid-point of the current campaign that in the whole of Rodgers’ inaugural season. Graeme Shinnie was booked for a tackle on ex-teammate Jonny Hayes Credit: PA Hearts prevailed by adopting the pressing tactics used by Anderlecht when they beat Celtic at Parkhead in the Champions League group stage but Aberdeen were more reticent on the leaders’ turf, although the robustness of their challenges saw yellow cards shown to Kari Arnason, Graeme Shinnie and Dominic Ball. The Dons emerged from their defensive cocoon midway through the first half and almost took the lead through Gary Mackay-Steven, scorer of a hat-trick against Hibernian the previous weekend, when the former Celtic midfielder ambushed Dedryck Boyata and drove narrowly beyond the far post. Celtic’s response was instant, a break which put Scott Sinclair one on one against Joe Lewis, who blocked the winger’s shot. Hayes scored Celtic's second against his old side Credit: PA Aberdeen looked value to reach the break unscathed but they were undone by cruel fortune when Mikael Lustig pushed up from his right-back beat for a speculative effort which clipped Ball’s shoulder to veer away from the wrong-footed Lewis. Another capricious rebound, midway through the second half, helped Celtic double their advantage when Sinclair’s cross was headed by Mark Reynold off Arnason’s boot and straight into the path of Jonny Hayes who stabbed his finish across the line to inflict further pain on his former employers. Aberdeen’s miserable afternoon was compounded by a horrible error by Kenny McLean, with a woefully short pass back to Lewis, who could not intervene as Olivier Ntcham capered around him to stroke the ball home and confirm that Celtic would post an eight-point lead over their nearest rivals. The Scottish Premiership season stops next week for a brief winter break, after the second Old Firm derby of the season is contested at Parkhead. On Thursday, Rangers moved to stabilise their managerial situation by confirming interim boss, Graeme Murty, until the end of the season. Murty’s extended tenure began with a setback at Rugby Park, where Kilmarnock’s improved form under Steve Clarke continued as they beat Rangers 2-1, with two goals in three minutes from Kris Boyd, a former Ibrox striker. Murty remained defiant and can at least console himself with the thought that he can speak of a personal unbeaten record at Celtic Park, where he saw Rangers to a 1-1 draw in March while acting as interim manager after Mark Warburton’s departure. “We have a chance next week to measure ourselves against Celtic, who are the benchmark, but we also have to be pushing as a football club to be at the top table,” Murty said. “They are currently there and the team to beat. We have to make up the gap, that’s the aim for the season. “It was the aim at the start and it’s still the aim. We must have an outstanding second half of the season. We have a cup competition to play for and we’re still in touch in the league – albeit we could be closer. If we’re positive and strong, who knows where that could take us?” Celtic might be the benchmark, as Murty says, but few Rangers supporters will nourish much hope that he can repeat the feat of plundering points from the other side of Glasgow, given that the Ibrox side have themselves been pillaged by Dundee, Hamilton, St Johnstone and now Kilmarnock. The Ibrox faithful’s frustration has been compounded by the knowledge that, had they taken maximum reward from fixtures they would once have considered routine, they would lead the standings. As it stands, the message on Celtic’s Christmas card is doubly resonant – joyful and triumphant.

Celtic 3 Aberdeen 0: Hoops extend league lead as Dons disappoint

There was a time, not so long ago, when mention of a meeting of the top two clubs in Scotland was shorthand for an Old Firm derby. In the continued absence of Rangers as credible contenders, the burden of mounting some form of challenge to Brendan Rodgers & Co has fallen upon Aberdeen, who responded last season by finishing as runners-up in all three domestic competitions. If that was a consistent response to the challenge, it also had the potential to be dispiriting for Derek McInnes and his squad, especially since Celtic won all six meetings of the pair and supplemented that record with a 3-0 victory at Pittodrie in which they produced their single best display of football in 2017. Aberdeen subsequently lost to Rangers home and away but McInnes rebuffed the Ibrox board’s invitation to become their manager, as he had done with Sunderland’s summer approach, prudently as events at the Stadium of Light were to demonstrate. In both instances McInnes declared that he had unfinished business at Pittodrie, which presumably included inflicting some sort of check on Celtic’s imperious progress through the Scottish fixture calendar, a desire that can only have been sharpened by recent developments. Celtic finished the 2016-17 title campaign unbeaten and having shed only eight points from 38 games. The Hoops’ attempt to take their unbeaten record in successive domestic matches to 70 was derailed spectacularly by Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend but, even before that, Celtic had dropped more points by the mid-point of the current campaign that in the whole of Rodgers’ inaugural season. Graeme Shinnie was booked for a tackle on ex-teammate Jonny Hayes Credit: PA Hearts prevailed by adopting the pressing tactics used by Anderlecht when they beat Celtic at Parkhead in the Champions League group stage but Aberdeen were more reticent on the leaders’ turf, although the robustness of their challenges saw yellow cards shown to Kari Arnason, Graeme Shinnie and Dominic Ball. The Dons emerged from their defensive cocoon midway through the first half and almost took the lead through Gary Mackay-Steven, scorer of a hat-trick against Hibernian the previous weekend, when the former Celtic midfielder ambushed Dedryck Boyata and drove narrowly beyond the far post. Celtic’s response was instant, a break which put Scott Sinclair one on one against Joe Lewis, who blocked the winger’s shot. Hayes scored Celtic's second against his old side Credit: PA Aberdeen looked value to reach the break unscathed but they were undone by cruel fortune when Mikael Lustig pushed up from his right-back beat for a speculative effort which clipped Ball’s shoulder to veer away from the wrong-footed Lewis. Another capricious rebound, midway through the second half, helped Celtic double their advantage when Sinclair’s cross was headed by Mark Reynold off Arnason’s boot and straight into the path of Jonny Hayes who stabbed his finish across the line to inflict further pain on his former employers. Aberdeen’s miserable afternoon was compounded by a horrible error by Kenny McLean, with a woefully short pass back to Lewis, who could not intervene as Olivier Ntcham capered around him to stroke the ball home and confirm that Celtic would post an eight-point lead over their nearest rivals. The Scottish Premiership season stops next week for a brief winter break, after the second Old Firm derby of the season is contested at Parkhead. On Thursday, Rangers moved to stabilise their managerial situation by confirming interim boss, Graeme Murty, until the end of the season. Murty’s extended tenure began with a setback at Rugby Park, where Kilmarnock’s improved form under Steve Clarke continued as they beat Rangers 2-1, with two goals in three minutes from Kris Boyd, a former Ibrox striker. Murty remained defiant and can at least console himself with the thought that he can speak of a personal unbeaten record at Celtic Park, where he saw Rangers to a 1-1 draw in March while acting as interim manager after Mark Warburton’s departure. “We have a chance next week to measure ourselves against Celtic, who are the benchmark, but we also have to be pushing as a football club to be at the top table,” Murty said. “They are currently there and the team to beat. We have to make up the gap, that’s the aim for the season. “It was the aim at the start and it’s still the aim. We must have an outstanding second half of the season. We have a cup competition to play for and we’re still in touch in the league – albeit we could be closer. If we’re positive and strong, who knows where that could take us?” Celtic might be the benchmark, as Murty says, but few Rangers supporters will nourish much hope that he can repeat the feat of plundering points from the other side of Glasgow, given that the Ibrox side have themselves been pillaged by Dundee, Hamilton, St Johnstone and now Kilmarnock. The Ibrox faithful’s frustration has been compounded by the knowledge that, had they taken maximum reward from fixtures they would once have considered routine, they would lead the standings. As it stands, the message on Celtic’s Christmas card is doubly resonant – joyful and triumphant.

Celtic 3 Aberdeen 0: Hoops extend league lead as Dons disappoint

There was a time, not so long ago, when mention of a meeting of the top two clubs in Scotland was shorthand for an Old Firm derby. In the continued absence of Rangers as credible contenders, the burden of mounting some form of challenge to Brendan Rodgers & Co has fallen upon Aberdeen, who responded last season by finishing as runners-up in all three domestic competitions. If that was a consistent response to the challenge, it also had the potential to be dispiriting for Derek McInnes and his squad, especially since Celtic won all six meetings of the pair and supplemented that record with a 3-0 victory at Pittodrie in which they produced their single best display of football in 2017. Aberdeen subsequently lost to Rangers home and away but McInnes rebuffed the Ibrox board’s invitation to become their manager, as he had done with Sunderland’s summer approach, prudently as events at the Stadium of Light were to demonstrate. In both instances McInnes declared that he had unfinished business at Pittodrie, which presumably included inflicting some sort of check on Celtic’s imperious progress through the Scottish fixture calendar, a desire that can only have been sharpened by recent developments. Celtic finished the 2016-17 title campaign unbeaten and having shed only eight points from 38 games. The Hoops’ attempt to take their unbeaten record in successive domestic matches to 70 was derailed spectacularly by Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend but, even before that, Celtic had dropped more points by the mid-point of the current campaign that in the whole of Rodgers’ inaugural season. Graeme Shinnie was booked for a tackle on ex-teammate Jonny Hayes Credit: PA Hearts prevailed by adopting the pressing tactics used by Anderlecht when they beat Celtic at Parkhead in the Champions League group stage but Aberdeen were more reticent on the leaders’ turf, although the robustness of their challenges saw yellow cards shown to Kari Arnason, Graeme Shinnie and Dominic Ball. The Dons emerged from their defensive cocoon midway through the first half and almost took the lead through Gary Mackay-Steven, scorer of a hat-trick against Hibernian the previous weekend, when the former Celtic midfielder ambushed Dedryck Boyata and drove narrowly beyond the far post. Celtic’s response was instant, a break which put Scott Sinclair one on one against Joe Lewis, who blocked the winger’s shot. Hayes scored Celtic's second against his old side Credit: PA Aberdeen looked value to reach the break unscathed but they were undone by cruel fortune when Mikael Lustig pushed up from his right-back beat for a speculative effort which clipped Ball’s shoulder to veer away from the wrong-footed Lewis. Another capricious rebound, midway through the second half, helped Celtic double their advantage when Sinclair’s cross was headed by Mark Reynold off Arnason’s boot and straight into the path of Jonny Hayes who stabbed his finish across the line to inflict further pain on his former employers. Aberdeen’s miserable afternoon was compounded by a horrible error by Kenny McLean, with a woefully short pass back to Lewis, who could not intervene as Olivier Ntcham capered around him to stroke the ball home and confirm that Celtic would post an eight-point lead over their nearest rivals. The Scottish Premiership season stops next week for a brief winter break, after the second Old Firm derby of the season is contested at Parkhead. On Thursday, Rangers moved to stabilise their managerial situation by confirming interim boss, Graeme Murty, until the end of the season. Murty’s extended tenure began with a setback at Rugby Park, where Kilmarnock’s improved form under Steve Clarke continued as they beat Rangers 2-1, with two goals in three minutes from Kris Boyd, a former Ibrox striker. Murty remained defiant and can at least console himself with the thought that he can speak of a personal unbeaten record at Celtic Park, where he saw Rangers to a 1-1 draw in March while acting as interim manager after Mark Warburton’s departure. “We have a chance next week to measure ourselves against Celtic, who are the benchmark, but we also have to be pushing as a football club to be at the top table,” Murty said. “They are currently there and the team to beat. We have to make up the gap, that’s the aim for the season. “It was the aim at the start and it’s still the aim. We must have an outstanding second half of the season. We have a cup competition to play for and we’re still in touch in the league – albeit we could be closer. If we’re positive and strong, who knows where that could take us?” Celtic might be the benchmark, as Murty says, but few Rangers supporters will nourish much hope that he can repeat the feat of plundering points from the other side of Glasgow, given that the Ibrox side have themselves been pillaged by Dundee, Hamilton, St Johnstone and now Kilmarnock. The Ibrox faithful’s frustration has been compounded by the knowledge that, had they taken maximum reward from fixtures they would once have considered routine, they would lead the standings. As it stands, the message on Celtic’s Christmas card is doubly resonant – joyful and triumphant.

Graeme Murty will 'give it a right good welly' after being appointed Rangers manager

When Rangers revealed the identity of their managerial successor to Pedro Caixinha, all that was missing was the sticky back plastic and someone to say “here’s one we made earlier...” A full eight weeks after jettisoning Caixinha and after being rebuffed by Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes, the Ibrox directors decided that the man for the job was the one they already had as interim boss and, moreover, who has been acting in that capacity for the second time in a year. Graeme Murty will now be in charge until the end of the season and will be active during the January transfer window. Some, including a section of the Rangers support, will regard the appointment as cheap and expedient. It is certainly remarkable that the board could not identify an irresistible candidate with pedigree willing to take the job. According to Stewart Robertson, Rangers’ managing director, however, Murty effectively worked himself into the position, despite losing 3-1 at home to St Johnstone last weekend. “There was a wide range of candidates we were looking at – and still were, post-Derek [McInnes] – but we weren’t overlooking the job that Graeme had done and is doing in the last couple of months and also in his previous stint,” Robertson said. “As time went on we were confident that he had the capability to take us forward. It wasn’t about one result. You’re looking at the body of work and the body of evidence over a period of time. “That made us confident that, while Graeme is inexperienced in management, a lot of the characteristics we were looking for were sitting right in front of us. He (Murty) is taking it that he gets one kick of the ball and he wants to give it a right good welly. Rangers are currently third in the Scottish Premiership Credit: pa “He has got a once in a lifetime opportunity to be the manager of Rangers and it says a lot about his character how he is approaching it, with his enthusiasm to take things on and get stuck in. He has got a different level of authority with the players now. “He is now the manager, not the guy who is only holding the fort until the manager comes in and it will be interesting to see if that helps. It has to help him, it has to be a positive. He doesn’t see it as a burden. If he thought he was going to see it as a burden, we wouldn’t have appointed him.” Murty was invited to extend his tenure at a meeting in Robertson’s house at 8.30pm on Thursday and did not require time to muse upon his options. “There was no way I could turn that down,” he said. Had he supposed, after last Saturday’s defeat by St Johnstone, that he had blown his chance? “As low as I got – because I was annoyed at the way we played – I didn’t think that would have any bearing on it because I didn’t think I was under consideration,” said the former Scotland defender, who played for York, Reading, Charlton and Southampton. Pedro Caixinha is a forgotten figure at Ibrox Credit: Reuters “Before, I was just preparing the team for someone else to come in, judge and take forward – and I was content with that. Now that it’s my team, there are things I would like to change, things I’d like to implement around the training ground and around our match-day protocols that I think we can be sharper on. “It wasn’t my place because I was just trying to keep them ready for someone else coming in and now I’ve got an opportunity to the end of the season to try and do things as I would like to do them.” It was a 1-1 home draw with Kilmarnock that finished Caixinha and, by grace of the fixture list, Murty has the chance to open his longer-term account against the same opponents at Rugby Park. Should Rangers prevail over Steve Clarke’s improving side in the lunchtime kick-off in the Scottish Premiership, they would be bound to gain from whatever occurs later at Parkhead, where Celtic play second-placed Aberdeen. Murty’s extended appointment was not the only news emanating from Rangers, whose chairman, Dave King, was judged in the Court of Session to have breached the 2006 Companies Act when he acted in concert with businessmen George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park to acquire more than 40 per cent of voting rights in the club in 2014. King must make an £11 million offer to buy stock from other investors at 20p a share, although since they are valued currently at 32p, he is unlikely to find takers. “In terms of the day-to-day running of the club and the PLC and the share issue we are looking at in the future, it has no impact whatsoever,” said Robertson.

Graeme Murty will 'give it a right good welly' after being appointed Rangers manager

When Rangers revealed the identity of their managerial successor to Pedro Caixinha, all that was missing was the sticky back plastic and someone to say “here’s one we made earlier...” A full eight weeks after jettisoning Caixinha and after being rebuffed by Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes, the Ibrox directors decided that the man for the job was the one they already had as interim boss and, moreover, who has been acting in that capacity for the second time in a year. Graeme Murty will now be in charge until the end of the season and will be active during the January transfer window. Some, including a section of the Rangers support, will regard the appointment as cheap and expedient. It is certainly remarkable that the board could not identify an irresistible candidate with pedigree willing to take the job. According to Stewart Robertson, Rangers’ managing director, however, Murty effectively worked himself into the position, despite losing 3-1 at home to St Johnstone last weekend. “There was a wide range of candidates we were looking at – and still were, post-Derek [McInnes] – but we weren’t overlooking the job that Graeme had done and is doing in the last couple of months and also in his previous stint,” Robertson said. “As time went on we were confident that he had the capability to take us forward. It wasn’t about one result. You’re looking at the body of work and the body of evidence over a period of time. “That made us confident that, while Graeme is inexperienced in management, a lot of the characteristics we were looking for were sitting right in front of us. He (Murty) is taking it that he gets one kick of the ball and he wants to give it a right good welly. Rangers are currently third in the Scottish Premiership Credit: pa “He has got a once in a lifetime opportunity to be the manager of Rangers and it says a lot about his character how he is approaching it, with his enthusiasm to take things on and get stuck in. He has got a different level of authority with the players now. “He is now the manager, not the guy who is only holding the fort until the manager comes in and it will be interesting to see if that helps. It has to help him, it has to be a positive. He doesn’t see it as a burden. If he thought he was going to see it as a burden, we wouldn’t have appointed him.” Murty was invited to extend his tenure at a meeting in Robertson’s house at 8.30pm on Thursday and did not require time to muse upon his options. “There was no way I could turn that down,” he said. Had he supposed, after last Saturday’s defeat by St Johnstone, that he had blown his chance? “As low as I got – because I was annoyed at the way we played – I didn’t think that would have any bearing on it because I didn’t think I was under consideration,” said the former Scotland defender, who played for York, Reading, Charlton and Southampton. Pedro Caixinha is a forgotten figure at Ibrox Credit: Reuters “Before, I was just preparing the team for someone else to come in, judge and take forward – and I was content with that. Now that it’s my team, there are things I would like to change, things I’d like to implement around the training ground and around our match-day protocols that I think we can be sharper on. “It wasn’t my place because I was just trying to keep them ready for someone else coming in and now I’ve got an opportunity to the end of the season to try and do things as I would like to do them.” It was a 1-1 home draw with Kilmarnock that finished Caixinha and, by grace of the fixture list, Murty has the chance to open his longer-term account against the same opponents at Rugby Park. Should Rangers prevail over Steve Clarke’s improving side in the lunchtime kick-off in the Scottish Premiership, they would be bound to gain from whatever occurs later at Parkhead, where Celtic play second-placed Aberdeen. Murty’s extended appointment was not the only news emanating from Rangers, whose chairman, Dave King, was judged in the Court of Session to have breached the 2006 Companies Act when he acted in concert with businessmen George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park to acquire more than 40 per cent of voting rights in the club in 2014. King must make an £11 million offer to buy stock from other investors at 20p a share, although since they are valued currently at 32p, he is unlikely to find takers. “In terms of the day-to-day running of the club and the PLC and the share issue we are looking at in the future, it has no impact whatsoever,” said Robertson.

Graeme Murty will 'give it a right good welly' after being appointed Rangers manager

When Rangers revealed the identity of their managerial successor to Pedro Caixinha, all that was missing was the sticky back plastic and someone to say “here’s one we made earlier...” A full eight weeks after jettisoning Caixinha and after being rebuffed by Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes, the Ibrox directors decided that the man for the job was the one they already had as interim boss and, moreover, who has been acting in that capacity for the second time in a year. Graeme Murty will now be in charge until the end of the season and will be active during the January transfer window. Some, including a section of the Rangers support, will regard the appointment as cheap and expedient. It is certainly remarkable that the board could not identify an irresistible candidate with pedigree willing to take the job. According to Stewart Robertson, Rangers’ managing director, however, Murty effectively worked himself into the position, despite losing 3-1 at home to St Johnstone last weekend. “There was a wide range of candidates we were looking at – and still were, post-Derek [McInnes] – but we weren’t overlooking the job that Graeme had done and is doing in the last couple of months and also in his previous stint,” Robertson said. “As time went on we were confident that he had the capability to take us forward. It wasn’t about one result. You’re looking at the body of work and the body of evidence over a period of time. “That made us confident that, while Graeme is inexperienced in management, a lot of the characteristics we were looking for were sitting right in front of us. He (Murty) is taking it that he gets one kick of the ball and he wants to give it a right good welly. Rangers are currently third in the Scottish Premiership Credit: pa “He has got a once in a lifetime opportunity to be the manager of Rangers and it says a lot about his character how he is approaching it, with his enthusiasm to take things on and get stuck in. He has got a different level of authority with the players now. “He is now the manager, not the guy who is only holding the fort until the manager comes in and it will be interesting to see if that helps. It has to help him, it has to be a positive. He doesn’t see it as a burden. If he thought he was going to see it as a burden, we wouldn’t have appointed him.” Murty was invited to extend his tenure at a meeting in Robertson’s house at 8.30pm on Thursday and did not require time to muse upon his options. “There was no way I could turn that down,” he said. Had he supposed, after last Saturday’s defeat by St Johnstone, that he had blown his chance? “As low as I got – because I was annoyed at the way we played – I didn’t think that would have any bearing on it because I didn’t think I was under consideration,” said the former Scotland defender, who played for York, Reading, Charlton and Southampton. Pedro Caixinha is a forgotten figure at Ibrox Credit: Reuters “Before, I was just preparing the team for someone else to come in, judge and take forward – and I was content with that. Now that it’s my team, there are things I would like to change, things I’d like to implement around the training ground and around our match-day protocols that I think we can be sharper on. “It wasn’t my place because I was just trying to keep them ready for someone else coming in and now I’ve got an opportunity to the end of the season to try and do things as I would like to do them.” It was a 1-1 home draw with Kilmarnock that finished Caixinha and, by grace of the fixture list, Murty has the chance to open his longer-term account against the same opponents at Rugby Park. Should Rangers prevail over Steve Clarke’s improving side in the lunchtime kick-off in the Scottish Premiership, they would be bound to gain from whatever occurs later at Parkhead, where Celtic play second-placed Aberdeen. Murty’s extended appointment was not the only news emanating from Rangers, whose chairman, Dave King, was judged in the Court of Session to have breached the 2006 Companies Act when he acted in concert with businessmen George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park to acquire more than 40 per cent of voting rights in the club in 2014. King must make an £11 million offer to buy stock from other investors at 20p a share, although since they are valued currently at 32p, he is unlikely to find takers. “In terms of the day-to-day running of the club and the PLC and the share issue we are looking at in the future, it has no impact whatsoever,” said Robertson.

Hearts end Celtic's 69-game unbeaten domestic run with four-goal hammering at Tynecastle

It had to finish eventually, of course, but no reputable pundit would have suggested that Celtic’s mighty record of 69 successive games unbeaten in domestic fixtures would be truncated in such emphatic fashion and by a team who finished the contest with two 16-year-olds in their ranks - one of whom was on the score sheet. Last Sunday at Easter Road, only a goal-line clearance by Mikael Lustig stopped 19-year-old Oli Shaw from putting an end to Celtic’s run in the 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road but on the other side of Edinburgh it was a cadet three years junior to Shaw who struck the first blow. Harry Cochrane, the first graduate of the Scottish Football Association’s performance school to start a senior game - against Dundee in September – ensured that this would be another indelible event in his young life by scoring his first goal in senior competitive football. That momentous event occurred in the 26th minute when the midfielder gathered a pass from Don Cowie and coolly drove it beyond Craig Gordon for Hearts’ opener. Even at that stage, Celtic looked unusually dishevelled, an impression confirmed five minutes before the break when Kyle Lafferty, whose muscular presence had disrupted the Hoops’ back line, was set up by David Milinkovic for a drive which clipped off the inside of Gordon’s right-hand post and across the line. Milinkovic resolved any doubt about the likely outcome with a second half double, first when he took advantage of a horrible error by Jozo Simunovic, then from the penalty spot after Gordon had fouled Ross Callachan needlessly. David Milinkovic makes it three for Hearts Credit: PA The occasion was heaven for stat addicts. Aside from Celtic’s immense undefeated sequence, Hearts were playing their sixth successive match at home, a consequence of the fixture disruption caused by the reconstruction of the main stand, having gone unbeaten in the previous five. Prior to this encounter, Celtic last suffered a domestic defeat on May 11, 2016, when they lost 2-1 to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park before a 7-0 thrashing of Motherwell in Ronny Deila’s last game in charge started their record-breaking schedule. The champions had also won seven of their eight most recent visits to Tynecastle. Brendan Rodgers started with Leigh Griffiths as his spearhead, perhaps in acknowledgement of the former Hibs forward’s taste for scoring against city rivals. By full time, Griffiths had been joined by Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard, and Celtic’s full contingent of strikers was reinforced by James Forrest and Scott Sinclair. Yet the Parkhead side failed to score in a domestic match for the first time since March 4, 2015, when they lost 1-0 at home to St Johnstone. Moreover, Celtic had scored in every game of their 69 unbeaten domestic outings. In contrast, when Lafferty was injured, he was replaced by Cole Stockton, formerly of Morecambe, who came on after Hearts had introduced their other 16-year-old, Anthony McDonald, for Prince Buaben. For all their firepower, Celtic were undone by frailty at the back and Hearts’ third goal was as basic as they come. Connor Randall launched a clearance upfield, Simunovic allowed it to bounce without interference and Milinkovic, blinking at his good fortune, drilled his finish precisely beyond Gordon. The Serb did exactly the same when presented with a similar gift, this time from the penalty spot after the Celtic keeper had tumbled Callachan as the Hearts man was moving away from goal. Rodgers acknowledged the vulnerability readily afterwards when he said: “First of all, I need to give credit to Hearts. It's a thoroughly deserved win; they were the better team. We didn't cope with their physicality, we made too many mistakes. “We could have played five games today and not scored a goal, but I also want to congratulate my players. To have gone through 69 games and for this to be their first defeat - of course, it's a sore one when you are beaten like that but they can hold their heads up. “They have been absolutely amazing over those 18 months.” Craig Levein, the Hearts manager, was both mightily relieved – having been the object of criticism for indifferent results – and exultant, but he gave Celtic due credit for their remarkable accomplishment. “I must compliment Celtic - to go this far without losing a match in the league or cups in Scotland is quite remarkable,” he said. “I am probably even prouder of my players because we have managed to break that run. “They played honestly today. They ran the miles they needed to shut Celtic down. They put pressure on the ball and managed to unsettle Celtic as a team. All credit to them. “They gave themselves, each other and the supporters absolutely everything they had. I was thrilled with the interaction between the players and supporters. You could hear the noise with the new stand, and it was hugely pleasing to hear that." Hearts had not scored more than two goals in any league game this season, so it was with tremendous gusto that chants of ‘We want five!’ resounded from the stands. Sadly for the spectator seated to the left of this Telegraph correspondent who had put money on Hearts to win 5-0, it was not to be – proof that you can’t keep all of the people happy all of the time.

Hearts end Celtic's 69-game unbeaten domestic run with four-goal hammering at Tynecastle

It had to finish eventually, of course, but no reputable pundit would have suggested that Celtic’s mighty record of 69 successive games unbeaten in domestic fixtures would be truncated in such emphatic fashion and by a team who finished the contest with two 16-year-olds in their ranks - one of whom was on the score sheet. Last Sunday at Easter Road, only a goal-line clearance by Mikael Lustig stopped 19-year-old Oli Shaw from putting an end to Celtic’s run in the 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road but on the other side of Edinburgh it was a cadet three years junior to Shaw who struck the first blow. Harry Cochrane, the first graduate of the Scottish Football Association’s performance school to start a senior game - against Dundee in September – ensured that this would be another indelible event in his young life by scoring his first goal in senior competitive football. That momentous event occurred in the 26th minute when the midfielder gathered a pass from Don Cowie and coolly drove it beyond Craig Gordon for Hearts’ opener. Even at that stage, Celtic looked unusually dishevelled, an impression confirmed five minutes before the break when Kyle Lafferty, whose muscular presence had disrupted the Hoops’ back line, was set up by David Milinkovic for a drive which clipped off the inside of Gordon’s right-hand post and across the line. Milinkovic resolved any doubt about the likely outcome with a second half double, first when he took advantage of a horrible error by Jozo Simunovic, then from the penalty spot after Gordon had fouled Ross Callachan needlessly. David Milinkovic makes it three for Hearts Credit: PA The occasion was heaven for stat addicts. Aside from Celtic’s immense undefeated sequence, Hearts were playing their sixth successive match at home, a consequence of the fixture disruption caused by the reconstruction of the main stand, having gone unbeaten in the previous five. Prior to this encounter, Celtic last suffered a domestic defeat on May 11, 2016, when they lost 2-1 to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park before a 7-0 thrashing of Motherwell in Ronny Deila’s last game in charge started their record-breaking schedule. The champions had also won seven of their eight most recent visits to Tynecastle. Brendan Rodgers started with Leigh Griffiths as his spearhead, perhaps in acknowledgement of the former Hibs forward’s taste for scoring against city rivals. By full time, Griffiths had been joined by Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard, and Celtic’s full contingent of strikers was reinforced by James Forrest and Scott Sinclair. Yet the Parkhead side failed to score in a domestic match for the first time since March 4, 2015, when they lost 1-0 at home to St Johnstone. Moreover, Celtic had scored in every game of their 69 unbeaten domestic outings. In contrast, when Lafferty was injured, he was replaced by Cole Stockton, formerly of Morecambe, who came on after Hearts had introduced their other 16-year-old, Anthony McDonald, for Prince Buaben. For all their firepower, Celtic were undone by frailty at the back and Hearts’ third goal was as basic as they come. Connor Randall launched a clearance upfield, Simunovic allowed it to bounce without interference and Milinkovic, blinking at his good fortune, drilled his finish precisely beyond Gordon. The Serb did exactly the same when presented with a similar gift, this time from the penalty spot after the Celtic keeper had tumbled Callachan as the Hearts man was moving away from goal. Rodgers acknowledged the vulnerability readily afterwards when he said: “First of all, I need to give credit to Hearts. It's a thoroughly deserved win; they were the better team. We didn't cope with their physicality, we made too many mistakes. “We could have played five games today and not scored a goal, but I also want to congratulate my players. To have gone through 69 games and for this to be their first defeat - of course, it's a sore one when you are beaten like that but they can hold their heads up. “They have been absolutely amazing over those 18 months.” Craig Levein, the Hearts manager, was both mightily relieved – having been the object of criticism for indifferent results – and exultant, but he gave Celtic due credit for their remarkable accomplishment. “I must compliment Celtic - to go this far without losing a match in the league or cups in Scotland is quite remarkable,” he said. “I am probably even prouder of my players because we have managed to break that run. “They played honestly today. They ran the miles they needed to shut Celtic down. They put pressure on the ball and managed to unsettle Celtic as a team. All credit to them. “They gave themselves, each other and the supporters absolutely everything they had. I was thrilled with the interaction between the players and supporters. You could hear the noise with the new stand, and it was hugely pleasing to hear that." Hearts had not scored more than two goals in any league game this season, so it was with tremendous gusto that chants of ‘We want five!’ resounded from the stands. Sadly for the spectator seated to the left of this Telegraph correspondent who had put money on Hearts to win 5-0, it was not to be – proof that you can’t keep all of the people happy all of the time.

Graeme Murty takes advice from Neil Lennon on being an Old Firm caretaker

An Old Firm manager gets the bullet after a string of bad results and a novice is thrust into the maelstrom with no notice. Sounds familiar? Yes, it was in March 2010 that Tony Mowbray was sacked by Celtic after 10 months in charge and Neil Lennon asked to take care on an interim basis, a tenure that was almost stillborn when Celtic crashed to a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Ross County. He remained in place for the rest of the season before being given the job full-time. He guided Celtic to three titles, two Scottish Cups and the last 16 of the Champions League. The Northern Irishman quit Celtic Park in 2014 and, after a spell at Bolton, was lured back to Scotland by Hibs in the summer of 2016, steering them to a return to the Premiership in his season. In the current campaign, his side have drawn with Celtic home and away in the league and beaten Rangers at Ibrox. On Wednesday, Rangers made up for the setback by beating Hibs at Easter Road, under the supervision of Graeme Murty, now in his second spell as caretaker manager in the aftermath of Pedro Caixinha’s sacking, having already performed the function in the wake of Mark Warburton’s departure in February. Murty did not expect to still be in charge; the Ibrox board were chasing Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes but their job offer was rebuffed. “I’m not sure there are many people who have been on the type of journey I’ve been on,” Murty said last night. “I actually talked to one on Wednesday in the shape of Neil Lennon and he spoke of his experience of being a caretaker at a massive, massive club. “The lessons he talked about are the things that I am going through now. It’s been an eye-opening year, a year of fantastic growth and development for me personally and professionally. It’s given me an insight into what I have to say is a magnificent club. “It’s opened my eyes to the wider world of football. Sometimes when you are in football, you get caught up in a bubble of the here and now, you forget how transient everything is but, coming to a club like Rangers, you get that feeling of history. “I realise I have a different status currently but I’m still the same person who goes home every night and is only third in charge of my own house.” Murty described his discussions with Lennon as “open and candid”, with his main piece of advice to enjoy the wins. “Coming from someone who must have been hurting quite a bit, that was very big of him. I really appreciated that,” says Murty. “I always have the feeling that it’s going to come crashing to a halt at any moment. That is why I’m enjoying it so much.” Graeme Murty directs his players Credit: GETTY IMAGES That sense of transience has underlined the importance of taking lessons from every day. “I’m trying to take as much learning and depth out of everything to help me to keep growing and developing as you don’t know when it’s going to stop,” he added. “I’m embracing it, but I’m thankful to the players for being on this journey with me. They haven’t come into this with any agenda whatsoever. They have just been very good pros and worked so hard. They get a lot of stick but I’ll be the one to stand up for them as they have been great for me.” Murty and Lennon experienced severe reverses on Saturday. Hibs lost away for the first time since March against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, where Graeme Shinnie opened the scoring and Gary Mackay-Steven got a hat-trick in a 4-1 win, with Anthony Stokes netting a last-minute consolation goal. Rangers – bidding for five successive top-flight league wins for the first time since 2011 – took the lead at home to St Johnstone through Alfredo Morelos, but goals from Blair Alston, Denny Johnstone and Graham Cummings gave Saints their first league win at Ibrox since 1971. Elsewhere, Dundee beat bottom side Partick Thistle 3-0, Hamilton were 3-2 winners over Ross County, and Kilmarnock pipped Motherwell 1-0.

Graeme Murty takes advice from Neil Lennon on being an Old Firm caretaker

An Old Firm manager gets the bullet after a string of bad results and a novice is thrust into the maelstrom with no notice. Sounds familiar? Yes, it was in March 2010 that Tony Mowbray was sacked by Celtic after 10 months in charge and Neil Lennon asked to take care on an interim basis, a tenure that was almost stillborn when Celtic crashed to a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Ross County. He remained in place for the rest of the season before being given the job full-time. He guided Celtic to three titles, two Scottish Cups and the last 16 of the Champions League. The Northern Irishman quit Celtic Park in 2014 and, after a spell at Bolton, was lured back to Scotland by Hibs in the summer of 2016, steering them to a return to the Premiership in his season. In the current campaign, his side have drawn with Celtic home and away in the league and beaten Rangers at Ibrox. On Wednesday, Rangers made up for the setback by beating Hibs at Easter Road, under the supervision of Graeme Murty, now in his second spell as caretaker manager in the aftermath of Pedro Caixinha’s sacking, having already performed the function in the wake of Mark Warburton’s departure in February. Murty did not expect to still be in charge; the Ibrox board were chasing Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes but their job offer was rebuffed. “I’m not sure there are many people who have been on the type of journey I’ve been on,” Murty said last night. “I actually talked to one on Wednesday in the shape of Neil Lennon and he spoke of his experience of being a caretaker at a massive, massive club. “The lessons he talked about are the things that I am going through now. It’s been an eye-opening year, a year of fantastic growth and development for me personally and professionally. It’s given me an insight into what I have to say is a magnificent club. “It’s opened my eyes to the wider world of football. Sometimes when you are in football, you get caught up in a bubble of the here and now, you forget how transient everything is but, coming to a club like Rangers, you get that feeling of history. “I realise I have a different status currently but I’m still the same person who goes home every night and is only third in charge of my own house.” Murty described his discussions with Lennon as “open and candid”, with his main piece of advice to enjoy the wins. “Coming from someone who must have been hurting quite a bit, that was very big of him. I really appreciated that,” says Murty. “I always have the feeling that it’s going to come crashing to a halt at any moment. That is why I’m enjoying it so much.” Graeme Murty directs his players Credit: GETTY IMAGES That sense of transience has underlined the importance of taking lessons from every day. “I’m trying to take as much learning and depth out of everything to help me to keep growing and developing as you don’t know when it’s going to stop,” he added. “I’m embracing it, but I’m thankful to the players for being on this journey with me. They haven’t come into this with any agenda whatsoever. They have just been very good pros and worked so hard. They get a lot of stick but I’ll be the one to stand up for them as they have been great for me.” Murty and Lennon experienced severe reverses on Saturday. Hibs lost away for the first time since March against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, where Graeme Shinnie opened the scoring and Gary Mackay-Steven got a hat-trick in a 4-1 win, with Anthony Stokes netting a last-minute consolation goal. Rangers – bidding for five successive top-flight league wins for the first time since 2011 – took the lead at home to St Johnstone through Alfredo Morelos, but goals from Blair Alston, Denny Johnstone and Graham Cummings gave Saints their first league win at Ibrox since 1971. Elsewhere, Dundee beat bottom side Partick Thistle 3-0, Hamilton were 3-2 winners over Ross County, and Kilmarnock pipped Motherwell 1-0.

Danny Wilson says Rangers must improve at home to stand a chance of winning trophies

It is a measure of Rangers’ fortunes on and off the field that, if they win on Saturday at home to St Johnstone, they will have recorded five successive league victories for the first time in as many years. The last time they accomplished the feat was between July and September 2011 when, with Ally McCoist in charge, they prevailed against St Johnstone, Inverness Caley Thistle, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Celtic. Later that season, of course, came the club’s financial meltdown under Craig Whyte, after which four campaigns were spent in pursuit of a return to the top flight of Scottish football. That was achieved last year under Mark Warburton but the best sequence assembled by the Englishman in the Scottish Premiership fell between St Andrew’s Day and Christmas Eve, with full points taken from meetings with Aberdeen, Hearts, Hamilton and Inverness. Rangers’ current run, with four successive wins against Aberdeen home and away, Ross County at Ibrox and Hibernian at Easter Road is not, however, evidence of a tide of superior form, as Danny Wilson admitted readily yesterday. At half time in the game against Hibs, the Rangers central defender berated his team mates in the dressing room, despite the fact that they were leading 2-1. “Within those four results there have been some good performances and some really bad performances as a team,” Wilson said. “We can do much better than we did at Hibs. “I haven’t watched the game back but, from playing in it, I felt we were miles off it in terms of what we want to do and achieve as a team. However, we were able to dig the result out and that was probably something people have held against us - that when the going got tough, we went under. Wilson in action during the 2-1 win over Hibs Credit: ACTION PLUS “There’s no doubt we were well below the standards required. The words at half time were to that effect. After the game everyone was obviously delighted with the result and to be able to show that resilience at a tough place like Hibs, where we haven’t enjoyed great results in our last few encounters. We were just delighted to win and continue the run we’re on and now we know we’ll have it tough against St Johnstone.” It was against St Johnstone, albeit in Perth, that last year’s run of wins came to an end and, if Rangers need further warning of potential hazard, they need only reference Tommy Wright’s ability to coax his players into quarrying points from unpromising fixtures. Saints drew home and away with Rangers in the second half of last season and they left Celtic Park with a 1-1 draw in August. Wright is arguably the most undervalued manager in the division – his name scarcely featured in the reckoning for a successor to Pedro Caixinha at Ibrox, a hiatus that has stretched for seven weeks – and the Northern Irishman was in prickly mood on Monday when he said: “Even our own support is negative about us at the minute, but we cannot let that affect us.” Rangers are still searching for a permanent manager but have secured positive results under Graeme Murty's watch Credit: PA St Johnstone lost at home to Aberdeen on Wednesday and Wright surely spies an opportunity in Rangers’ patchy home form. In nine league games at Ibrox, Rangers have won four, drawn two and lost three. “If we want to achieve anything this season we have to fix the home form because it's not been good enough,” said Wilson. “If we had taken more points at home, we would have been closer to first, but we are not looking too far ahead because, like I say, we know where we have just been.” Rangers will be without Kenny Miller, victim of a hamstring injury, and the veteran striker might still be absent when his colleagues travel to Celtic Park on December 30. Graham Dorrans, meanwhile, has not featured in midfield since the 1-1 home draw with Kilmarnock on October 25 and will be out for at least another three months after having undergone ankle surgery. “Graham is really unfortunate and I feel for him,” said Graeme Murty, Rangers’ interim manager. “On medical advice we took a conservative path with his initial rehab and that didn’t work. "I know he’s down and he’s quite low and before we talk about length of time being out I want to make sure the fellow is alright. Having been there myself, I know that coming up to Christmas it’s a brilliant time to be a footballer. “You get loads of games and at home everything is done for you. It’s all geared towards you performing in an extended way and you do miss it. We have to make sure Graham as a person is taken care of and then we’ll take care of the player after that.”

Danny Wilson says Rangers must improve at home to stand a chance of winning trophies

It is a measure of Rangers’ fortunes on and off the field that, if they win on Saturday at home to St Johnstone, they will have recorded five successive league victories for the first time in as many years. The last time they accomplished the feat was between July and September 2011 when, with Ally McCoist in charge, they prevailed against St Johnstone, Inverness Caley Thistle, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Celtic. Later that season, of course, came the club’s financial meltdown under Craig Whyte, after which four campaigns were spent in pursuit of a return to the top flight of Scottish football. That was achieved last year under Mark Warburton but the best sequence assembled by the Englishman in the Scottish Premiership fell between St Andrew’s Day and Christmas Eve, with full points taken from meetings with Aberdeen, Hearts, Hamilton and Inverness. Rangers’ current run, with four successive wins against Aberdeen home and away, Ross County at Ibrox and Hibernian at Easter Road is not, however, evidence of a tide of superior form, as Danny Wilson admitted readily yesterday. At half time in the game against Hibs, the Rangers central defender berated his team mates in the dressing room, despite the fact that they were leading 2-1. “Within those four results there have been some good performances and some really bad performances as a team,” Wilson said. “We can do much better than we did at Hibs. “I haven’t watched the game back but, from playing in it, I felt we were miles off it in terms of what we want to do and achieve as a team. However, we were able to dig the result out and that was probably something people have held against us - that when the going got tough, we went under. Wilson in action during the 2-1 win over Hibs Credit: ACTION PLUS “There’s no doubt we were well below the standards required. The words at half time were to that effect. After the game everyone was obviously delighted with the result and to be able to show that resilience at a tough place like Hibs, where we haven’t enjoyed great results in our last few encounters. We were just delighted to win and continue the run we’re on and now we know we’ll have it tough against St Johnstone.” It was against St Johnstone, albeit in Perth, that last year’s run of wins came to an end and, if Rangers need further warning of potential hazard, they need only reference Tommy Wright’s ability to coax his players into quarrying points from unpromising fixtures. Saints drew home and away with Rangers in the second half of last season and they left Celtic Park with a 1-1 draw in August. Wright is arguably the most undervalued manager in the division – his name scarcely featured in the reckoning for a successor to Pedro Caixinha at Ibrox, a hiatus that has stretched for seven weeks – and the Northern Irishman was in prickly mood on Monday when he said: “Even our own support is negative about us at the minute, but we cannot let that affect us.” Rangers are still searching for a permanent manager but have secured positive results under Graeme Murty's watch Credit: PA St Johnstone lost at home to Aberdeen on Wednesday and Wright surely spies an opportunity in Rangers’ patchy home form. In nine league games at Ibrox, Rangers have won four, drawn two and lost three. “If we want to achieve anything this season we have to fix the home form because it's not been good enough,” said Wilson. “If we had taken more points at home, we would have been closer to first, but we are not looking too far ahead because, like I say, we know where we have just been.” Rangers will be without Kenny Miller, victim of a hamstring injury, and the veteran striker might still be absent when his colleagues travel to Celtic Park on December 30. Graham Dorrans, meanwhile, has not featured in midfield since the 1-1 home draw with Kilmarnock on October 25 and will be out for at least another three months after having undergone ankle surgery. “Graham is really unfortunate and I feel for him,” said Graeme Murty, Rangers’ interim manager. “On medical advice we took a conservative path with his initial rehab and that didn’t work. "I know he’s down and he’s quite low and before we talk about length of time being out I want to make sure the fellow is alright. Having been there myself, I know that coming up to Christmas it’s a brilliant time to be a footballer. “You get loads of games and at home everything is done for you. It’s all geared towards you performing in an extended way and you do miss it. We have to make sure Graham as a person is taken care of and then we’ll take care of the player after that.”

Danny Wilson says Rangers must improve at home to stand a chance of winning trophies

It is a measure of Rangers’ fortunes on and off the field that, if they win on Saturday at home to St Johnstone, they will have recorded five successive league victories for the first time in as many years. The last time they accomplished the feat was between July and September 2011 when, with Ally McCoist in charge, they prevailed against St Johnstone, Inverness Caley Thistle, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Celtic. Later that season, of course, came the club’s financial meltdown under Craig Whyte, after which four campaigns were spent in pursuit of a return to the top flight of Scottish football. That was achieved last year under Mark Warburton but the best sequence assembled by the Englishman in the Scottish Premiership fell between St Andrew’s Day and Christmas Eve, with full points taken from meetings with Aberdeen, Hearts, Hamilton and Inverness. Rangers’ current run, with four successive wins against Aberdeen home and away, Ross County at Ibrox and Hibernian at Easter Road is not, however, evidence of a tide of superior form, as Danny Wilson admitted readily yesterday. At half time in the game against Hibs, the Rangers central defender berated his team mates in the dressing room, despite the fact that they were leading 2-1. “Within those four results there have been some good performances and some really bad performances as a team,” Wilson said. “We can do much better than we did at Hibs. “I haven’t watched the game back but, from playing in it, I felt we were miles off it in terms of what we want to do and achieve as a team. However, we were able to dig the result out and that was probably something people have held against us - that when the going got tough, we went under. Wilson in action during the 2-1 win over Hibs Credit: ACTION PLUS “There’s no doubt we were well below the standards required. The words at half time were to that effect. After the game everyone was obviously delighted with the result and to be able to show that resilience at a tough place like Hibs, where we haven’t enjoyed great results in our last few encounters. We were just delighted to win and continue the run we’re on and now we know we’ll have it tough against St Johnstone.” It was against St Johnstone, albeit in Perth, that last year’s run of wins came to an end and, if Rangers need further warning of potential hazard, they need only reference Tommy Wright’s ability to coax his players into quarrying points from unpromising fixtures. Saints drew home and away with Rangers in the second half of last season and they left Celtic Park with a 1-1 draw in August. Wright is arguably the most undervalued manager in the division – his name scarcely featured in the reckoning for a successor to Pedro Caixinha at Ibrox, a hiatus that has stretched for seven weeks – and the Northern Irishman was in prickly mood on Monday when he said: “Even our own support is negative about us at the minute, but we cannot let that affect us.” Rangers are still searching for a permanent manager but have secured positive results under Graeme Murty's watch Credit: PA St Johnstone lost at home to Aberdeen on Wednesday and Wright surely spies an opportunity in Rangers’ patchy home form. In nine league games at Ibrox, Rangers have won four, drawn two and lost three. “If we want to achieve anything this season we have to fix the home form because it's not been good enough,” said Wilson. “If we had taken more points at home, we would have been closer to first, but we are not looking too far ahead because, like I say, we know where we have just been.” Rangers will be without Kenny Miller, victim of a hamstring injury, and the veteran striker might still be absent when his colleagues travel to Celtic Park on December 30. Graham Dorrans, meanwhile, has not featured in midfield since the 1-1 home draw with Kilmarnock on October 25 and will be out for at least another three months after having undergone ankle surgery. “Graham is really unfortunate and I feel for him,” said Graeme Murty, Rangers’ interim manager. “On medical advice we took a conservative path with his initial rehab and that didn’t work. "I know he’s down and he’s quite low and before we talk about length of time being out I want to make sure the fellow is alright. Having been there myself, I know that coming up to Christmas it’s a brilliant time to be a footballer. “You get loads of games and at home everything is done for you. It’s all geared towards you performing in an extended way and you do miss it. We have to make sure Graham as a person is taken care of and then we’ll take care of the player after that.”

Celtic’s mileage stretches on with no sign of interruption. The needle hit 69 successive games unbeaten with goals from Olivier Ntcham, James Forrest and Scott Sinclair against a worthy effort from Hamilton, for whom Daniel Redmond found the mark and Rakish Bingham struck the post. The Celtic Park ambience on a bitterly cold night reflected season diversions and office parties must have had an impact on the attendance because the usually vibrant stadium had the feel of a half-empty Christmas stocking. Those who made the effort to attend, however, were treated to an opening first 45 minutes replete with four goals, all of them excellent. Brendan Rodgers made three changes from the 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road, with Mikael Lustig, Jozo Simunovic and Kieran Tierney all on the bench to make way for Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Stuart Armstrong. Also sitting out the start once more were the striker pair of Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele. The Hamilton manager, Martin Canning, without the luxury of a substantial squad, was forced to make six alterations to the line-up for their weekend defeat by St Johnstone in Perth. Canning revealed that David Templeton had missed training because of a throat infection, although the midfielder was numbered among the Accies substitutes, but Antiono Rojano had to be ruled out completely because of a back injury. In such circumstances, Celtic generally attempt to throttle opponents as early as possible and this occasion was no exception, with the stats showing them controlling 75% of possession by the 10-minute mark. By that stage, they were already a goal to the good from a delightful combination of Sinclair and Ntcham, the former chipping towards the back of the box for his colleague to strike a rising right-foot volley beyond Gary Woods. Daniel Redmond scores Hamilton's goal Credit: PA Hamilton might easily have folded but they stuck to a dispiriting task and got unexpected reward for persisting with an unpromising attack that seemed to have run out of steam on the left. The move was revitalised thanks to Darian MacKinnon’s persistence and, when the combative midfielder worked the ball to the edge of the box, Redmond did well to scoop his left-footed strike with precision and power high past Craig Gordon. As the interval approached, Hamilton could have been pardoned for imagining that they could take the comfort of a draw into the dressing room, but they were to be floored by two goals in as many minutes. The double blow carried additional force because Rakish Bingham had almost burst clear inside the Celtic half, only to be thwarted by a superbly timed interception by Ajer. Another day, another Celtic win Credit: PA The ball was shuttled adeptly through Armstrong to Forrest, who finished with trademark efficiency. Accies made the cardinal error of losing possession almost straight from therir restart and this time Forrest turned supplier, setting up Sinclair for an accomplished lofted effort into the top corner of the net. Odsonne Edouard, the teenager on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, had been granted the role of Celtic spearhead and his predatory instincts would have bagged him a couple of goals had it not been for impressive alertness from Woods, who twice plucked the ball from the Frenchman’s toes as he was played clean through the Hamilton back line. Edouard’s stint was done midway through the second half, when he was replaced by Griffiths, who took to the field with high energy. It was, though, Bingham who came closest when he prodded a shot through Gordon’s legs but was frustrated as the ball bobbled along the goal line and off the far post to safety. Match details Celtic (3-5-2):Gordon; Ajer, Boyata (Simunovic 72), Bitton; Forrest, Ntcham, Brown, Armstrong, McGregor; Edouard (Griffiths 67), Sinclair. Subs (unused): De Vries (g), Dembele, Hayes, Lustig, Tierney. Booked: Edouard. Hamilton Academical (3-5-2): Woods; Gogic, Tomas, McManus; Gillespie (, MacKinnon, Donati, Docherty, Imrie; Redmond, Bingham. Subs (unused): Fulton (g), Templeton, Lyon, Ferguson, Cunningham, Sarris. Booked: Gillespie. Referee: Stephen Finnie.

Celtic’s mileage stretches on with no sign of interruption. The needle hit 69 successive games unbeaten with goals from Olivier Ntcham, James Forrest and Scott Sinclair against a worthy effort from Hamilton, for whom Daniel Redmond found the mark and Rakish Bingham struck the post. The Celtic Park ambience on a bitterly cold night reflected season diversions and office parties must have had an impact on the attendance because the usually vibrant stadium had the feel of a half-empty Christmas stocking. Those who made the effort to attend, however, were treated to an opening first 45 minutes replete with four goals, all of them excellent. Brendan Rodgers made three changes from the 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road, with Mikael Lustig, Jozo Simunovic and Kieran Tierney all on the bench to make way for Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Stuart Armstrong. Also sitting out the start once more were the striker pair of Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele. The Hamilton manager, Martin Canning, without the luxury of a substantial squad, was forced to make six alterations to the line-up for their weekend defeat by St Johnstone in Perth. Canning revealed that David Templeton had missed training because of a throat infection, although the midfielder was numbered among the Accies substitutes, but Antiono Rojano had to be ruled out completely because of a back injury. In such circumstances, Celtic generally attempt to throttle opponents as early as possible and this occasion was no exception, with the stats showing them controlling 75% of possession by the 10-minute mark. By that stage, they were already a goal to the good from a delightful combination of Sinclair and Ntcham, the former chipping towards the back of the box for his colleague to strike a rising right-foot volley beyond Gary Woods. Daniel Redmond scores Hamilton's goal Credit: PA Hamilton might easily have folded but they stuck to a dispiriting task and got unexpected reward for persisting with an unpromising attack that seemed to have run out of steam on the left. The move was revitalised thanks to Darian MacKinnon’s persistence and, when the combative midfielder worked the ball to the edge of the box, Redmond did well to scoop his left-footed strike with precision and power high past Craig Gordon. As the interval approached, Hamilton could have been pardoned for imagining that they could take the comfort of a draw into the dressing room, but they were to be floored by two goals in as many minutes. The double blow carried additional force because Rakish Bingham had almost burst clear inside the Celtic half, only to be thwarted by a superbly timed interception by Ajer. Another day, another Celtic win Credit: PA The ball was shuttled adeptly through Armstrong to Forrest, who finished with trademark efficiency. Accies made the cardinal error of losing possession almost straight from therir restart and this time Forrest turned supplier, setting up Sinclair for an accomplished lofted effort into the top corner of the net. Odsonne Edouard, the teenager on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, had been granted the role of Celtic spearhead and his predatory instincts would have bagged him a couple of goals had it not been for impressive alertness from Woods, who twice plucked the ball from the Frenchman’s toes as he was played clean through the Hamilton back line. Edouard’s stint was done midway through the second half, when he was replaced by Griffiths, who took to the field with high energy. It was, though, Bingham who came closest when he prodded a shot through Gordon’s legs but was frustrated as the ball bobbled along the goal line and off the far post to safety. Match details Celtic (3-5-2):Gordon; Ajer, Boyata (Simunovic 72), Bitton; Forrest, Ntcham, Brown, Armstrong, McGregor; Edouard (Griffiths 67), Sinclair. Subs (unused): De Vries (g), Dembele, Hayes, Lustig, Tierney. Booked: Edouard. Hamilton Academical (3-5-2): Woods; Gogic, Tomas, McManus; Gillespie (, MacKinnon, Donati, Docherty, Imrie; Redmond, Bingham. Subs (unused): Fulton (g), Templeton, Lyon, Ferguson, Cunningham, Sarris. Booked: Gillespie. Referee: Stephen Finnie.

Celtic’s mileage stretches on with no sign of interruption. The needle hit 69 successive games unbeaten with goals from Olivier Ntcham, James Forrest and Scott Sinclair against a worthy effort from Hamilton, for whom Daniel Redmond found the mark and Rakish Bingham struck the post. The Celtic Park ambience on a bitterly cold night reflected season diversions and office parties must have had an impact on the attendance because the usually vibrant stadium had the feel of a half-empty Christmas stocking. Those who made the effort to attend, however, were treated to an opening first 45 minutes replete with four goals, all of them excellent. Brendan Rodgers made three changes from the 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road, with Mikael Lustig, Jozo Simunovic and Kieran Tierney all on the bench to make way for Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Stuart Armstrong. Also sitting out the start once more were the striker pair of Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele. The Hamilton manager, Martin Canning, without the luxury of a substantial squad, was forced to make six alterations to the line-up for their weekend defeat by St Johnstone in Perth. Canning revealed that David Templeton had missed training because of a throat infection, although the midfielder was numbered among the Accies substitutes, but Antiono Rojano had to be ruled out completely because of a back injury. In such circumstances, Celtic generally attempt to throttle opponents as early as possible and this occasion was no exception, with the stats showing them controlling 75% of possession by the 10-minute mark. By that stage, they were already a goal to the good from a delightful combination of Sinclair and Ntcham, the former chipping towards the back of the box for his colleague to strike a rising right-foot volley beyond Gary Woods. Daniel Redmond scores Hamilton's goal Credit: PA Hamilton might easily have folded but they stuck to a dispiriting task and got unexpected reward for persisting with an unpromising attack that seemed to have run out of steam on the left. The move was revitalised thanks to Darian MacKinnon’s persistence and, when the combative midfielder worked the ball to the edge of the box, Redmond did well to scoop his left-footed strike with precision and power high past Craig Gordon. As the interval approached, Hamilton could have been pardoned for imagining that they could take the comfort of a draw into the dressing room, but they were to be floored by two goals in as many minutes. The double blow carried additional force because Rakish Bingham had almost burst clear inside the Celtic half, only to be thwarted by a superbly timed interception by Ajer. Another day, another Celtic win Credit: PA The ball was shuttled adeptly through Armstrong to Forrest, who finished with trademark efficiency. Accies made the cardinal error of losing possession almost straight from therir restart and this time Forrest turned supplier, setting up Sinclair for an accomplished lofted effort into the top corner of the net. Odsonne Edouard, the teenager on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, had been granted the role of Celtic spearhead and his predatory instincts would have bagged him a couple of goals had it not been for impressive alertness from Woods, who twice plucked the ball from the Frenchman’s toes as he was played clean through the Hamilton back line. Edouard’s stint was done midway through the second half, when he was replaced by Griffiths, who took to the field with high energy. It was, though, Bingham who came closest when he prodded a shot through Gordon’s legs but was frustrated as the ball bobbled along the goal line and off the far post to safety. Match details Celtic (3-5-2):Gordon; Ajer, Boyata (Simunovic 72), Bitton; Forrest, Ntcham, Brown, Armstrong, McGregor; Edouard (Griffiths 67), Sinclair. Subs (unused): De Vries (g), Dembele, Hayes, Lustig, Tierney. Booked: Edouard. Hamilton Academical (3-5-2): Woods; Gogic, Tomas, McManus; Gillespie (, MacKinnon, Donati, Docherty, Imrie; Redmond, Bingham. Subs (unused): Fulton (g), Templeton, Lyon, Ferguson, Cunningham, Sarris. Booked: Gillespie. Referee: Stephen Finnie.

Managerless Rangers' January transfer activity to be led by former Manchester City academy director

As they approach the January transfer window with no sign of filling their managerial vacancy, Rangers will rely upon Mark Allen to reinforce their squad for the second half of the season. The man formerly in charge of the Manchester City academy is now director of football at Ibrox and according to interim manager, Graeme Murty, Allen could be thwarted in pursuit of targets because of the absence of a manager in the wake of Derek McInnes’s decision to snub Rangers’ offer to take charge. “It’s possible but, to be perfectly honest, I think we're buying a bit of trouble if we get focused on it,” Murty said. “Our recruitment department and Mark are looking at targets. “We're in daily discussions but, as it comes closer to that time and to individual players, you'll have to talk to Mark because he's in charge of that side of it at the moment. “I haven't been told anything is going to stop us getting a player that we like but, similarly, I haven't yet been detailed with specific targets. That will just have to take care of itself when January comes.” Meanwhile, the gulf that must somehow be bridged if Rangers are ever to restore their credibility as challengers to Celtic can be summed up by their respective aims on visits to Easter Road. On Sunday Celtic left the stadium with their unbeaten run extended to 68 in successive domestic fixtures. Interim manager Graeme Murty thinks Rangers could suffer in the transfer market given their lack of a permanent manager Credit: PA On Wednesday Rangers will aim to get to four wins in a row, having achieved three on the bounce for the first time in a year after beating Aberdeen home and away as well as coming from behind to prevail against Ross County at Ibrox on Saturday. Hibernian, of course, are in good shape with Neil Lennon in charge of their first season back in the top flight of Scottish football and a win would put them level with Rangers on points, and perhaps also with Aberdeen, depending upon the outcome in Perth, where the Dons meet St Johnstone. Hibs beat Rangers at Ibrox when the hapless Pedro Caixinha was in charge earlier in the season, but Murty did not accept that it would be a marker for him to reverse that outcome. “It’s three points. There’s no point reading any more into that,” he said. Murty and his de facto assistant, Jonatan Johansson, were at Easter Road to watch Hibs play Celtic on Sunday, although the interim boss confessed that the value of the exercise was debatable because of Lennon’s versatility. “JJ and I actually questioned how useful it was because I am not sure that Hibs will play in the same manner against us. I think they will have a different mindset, but it was useful for me to see the environment and to see some of their personnel without being constrained by the TV screen, to see how they move and what their strengths are. “Then we came back and watched three or four hours of their games and seeing them play in different formations. Mr Lennon is very adept at changing formations within the game too and we have to be on our toes dealing with that. Rangers are aiming for a fourth win in a row Credit: PA “I just think they will be more intense than they were against Celtic. The way that Celtic play in spreading the pitch and playing out from the back, and them being so good at it, actually draws the teeth of any aggressive press at the moment. I think Hibs will have possibly a different formation from the start.” Asked if Rangers’ current modest unbeaten run has encouraged him to nourish hope of extending the sequence as far as the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park on December 30, Murty said: This is Rangers - we should be looking at that anyway. “We are trying make sure we take care of one marker at a time. If we get carried away and start looking at Celtic Park, I have got no doubt there are opponents before that that will be looking to trip us up. “We have to deal with Hibs’ intensity, their level of play, because they have got some good players. They have been successful this season and we have to make sure we are fully prepared for that. “Then, if we get closer to Celtic, great, but let’s make sure we focus on our process and our game first. Let’s not worry about Celtic, let’s concern ourselves with us. “At Aberdeen, everyone contributed and even Carlos Pena was involved when he came off, congratulating the guys, realising that everyone has a part to play. “If we get that mindset, that togetherness, as I’ve said there are qualities and threats within our group that mean we can go and hurt teams.”

Managerless Rangers' January transfer activity to be led by former Manchester City academy director

As they approach the January transfer window with no sign of filling their managerial vacancy, Rangers will rely upon Mark Allen to reinforce their squad for the second half of the season. The man formerly in charge of the Manchester City academy is now director of football at Ibrox and according to interim manager, Graeme Murty, Allen could be thwarted in pursuit of targets because of the absence of a manager in the wake of Derek McInnes’s decision to snub Rangers’ offer to take charge. “It’s possible but, to be perfectly honest, I think we're buying a bit of trouble if we get focused on it,” Murty said. “Our recruitment department and Mark are looking at targets. “We're in daily discussions but, as it comes closer to that time and to individual players, you'll have to talk to Mark because he's in charge of that side of it at the moment. “I haven't been told anything is going to stop us getting a player that we like but, similarly, I haven't yet been detailed with specific targets. That will just have to take care of itself when January comes.” Meanwhile, the gulf that must somehow be bridged if Rangers are ever to restore their credibility as challengers to Celtic can be summed up by their respective aims on visits to Easter Road. On Sunday Celtic left the stadium with their unbeaten run extended to 68 in successive domestic fixtures. Interim manager Graeme Murty thinks Rangers could suffer in the transfer market given their lack of a permanent manager Credit: PA On Wednesday Rangers will aim to get to four wins in a row, having achieved three on the bounce for the first time in a year after beating Aberdeen home and away as well as coming from behind to prevail against Ross County at Ibrox on Saturday. Hibernian, of course, are in good shape with Neil Lennon in charge of their first season back in the top flight of Scottish football and a win would put them level with Rangers on points, and perhaps also with Aberdeen, depending upon the outcome in Perth, where the Dons meet St Johnstone. Hibs beat Rangers at Ibrox when the hapless Pedro Caixinha was in charge earlier in the season, but Murty did not accept that it would be a marker for him to reverse that outcome. “It’s three points. There’s no point reading any more into that,” he said. Murty and his de facto assistant, Jonatan Johansson, were at Easter Road to watch Hibs play Celtic on Sunday, although the interim boss confessed that the value of the exercise was debatable because of Lennon’s versatility. “JJ and I actually questioned how useful it was because I am not sure that Hibs will play in the same manner against us. I think they will have a different mindset, but it was useful for me to see the environment and to see some of their personnel without being constrained by the TV screen, to see how they move and what their strengths are. “Then we came back and watched three or four hours of their games and seeing them play in different formations. Mr Lennon is very adept at changing formations within the game too and we have to be on our toes dealing with that. Rangers are aiming for a fourth win in a row Credit: PA “I just think they will be more intense than they were against Celtic. The way that Celtic play in spreading the pitch and playing out from the back, and them being so good at it, actually draws the teeth of any aggressive press at the moment. I think Hibs will have possibly a different formation from the start.” Asked if Rangers’ current modest unbeaten run has encouraged him to nourish hope of extending the sequence as far as the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park on December 30, Murty said: This is Rangers - we should be looking at that anyway. “We are trying make sure we take care of one marker at a time. If we get carried away and start looking at Celtic Park, I have got no doubt there are opponents before that that will be looking to trip us up. “We have to deal with Hibs’ intensity, their level of play, because they have got some good players. They have been successful this season and we have to make sure we are fully prepared for that. “Then, if we get closer to Celtic, great, but let’s make sure we focus on our process and our game first. Let’s not worry about Celtic, let’s concern ourselves with us. “At Aberdeen, everyone contributed and even Carlos Pena was involved when he came off, congratulating the guys, realising that everyone has a part to play. “If we get that mindset, that togetherness, as I’ve said there are qualities and threats within our group that mean we can go and hurt teams.”

Managerless Rangers' January transfer activity to be led by former Manchester City academy director

As they approach the January transfer window with no sign of filling their managerial vacancy, Rangers will rely upon Mark Allen to reinforce their squad for the second half of the season. The man formerly in charge of the Manchester City academy is now director of football at Ibrox and according to interim manager, Graeme Murty, Allen could be thwarted in pursuit of targets because of the absence of a manager in the wake of Derek McInnes’s decision to snub Rangers’ offer to take charge. “It’s possible but, to be perfectly honest, I think we're buying a bit of trouble if we get focused on it,” Murty said. “Our recruitment department and Mark are looking at targets. “We're in daily discussions but, as it comes closer to that time and to individual players, you'll have to talk to Mark because he's in charge of that side of it at the moment. “I haven't been told anything is going to stop us getting a player that we like but, similarly, I haven't yet been detailed with specific targets. That will just have to take care of itself when January comes.” Meanwhile, the gulf that must somehow be bridged if Rangers are ever to restore their credibility as challengers to Celtic can be summed up by their respective aims on visits to Easter Road. On Sunday Celtic left the stadium with their unbeaten run extended to 68 in successive domestic fixtures. Interim manager Graeme Murty thinks Rangers could suffer in the transfer market given their lack of a permanent manager Credit: PA On Wednesday Rangers will aim to get to four wins in a row, having achieved three on the bounce for the first time in a year after beating Aberdeen home and away as well as coming from behind to prevail against Ross County at Ibrox on Saturday. Hibernian, of course, are in good shape with Neil Lennon in charge of their first season back in the top flight of Scottish football and a win would put them level with Rangers on points, and perhaps also with Aberdeen, depending upon the outcome in Perth, where the Dons meet St Johnstone. Hibs beat Rangers at Ibrox when the hapless Pedro Caixinha was in charge earlier in the season, but Murty did not accept that it would be a marker for him to reverse that outcome. “It’s three points. There’s no point reading any more into that,” he said. Murty and his de facto assistant, Jonatan Johansson, were at Easter Road to watch Hibs play Celtic on Sunday, although the interim boss confessed that the value of the exercise was debatable because of Lennon’s versatility. “JJ and I actually questioned how useful it was because I am not sure that Hibs will play in the same manner against us. I think they will have a different mindset, but it was useful for me to see the environment and to see some of their personnel without being constrained by the TV screen, to see how they move and what their strengths are. “Then we came back and watched three or four hours of their games and seeing them play in different formations. Mr Lennon is very adept at changing formations within the game too and we have to be on our toes dealing with that. Rangers are aiming for a fourth win in a row Credit: PA “I just think they will be more intense than they were against Celtic. The way that Celtic play in spreading the pitch and playing out from the back, and them being so good at it, actually draws the teeth of any aggressive press at the moment. I think Hibs will have possibly a different formation from the start.” Asked if Rangers’ current modest unbeaten run has encouraged him to nourish hope of extending the sequence as far as the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park on December 30, Murty said: This is Rangers - we should be looking at that anyway. “We are trying make sure we take care of one marker at a time. If we get carried away and start looking at Celtic Park, I have got no doubt there are opponents before that that will be looking to trip us up. “We have to deal with Hibs’ intensity, their level of play, because they have got some good players. They have been successful this season and we have to make sure we are fully prepared for that. “Then, if we get closer to Celtic, great, but let’s make sure we focus on our process and our game first. Let’s not worry about Celtic, let’s concern ourselves with us. “At Aberdeen, everyone contributed and even Carlos Pena was involved when he came off, congratulating the guys, realising that everyone has a part to play. “If we get that mindset, that togetherness, as I’ve said there are qualities and threats within our group that mean we can go and hurt teams.”

Graeme Murty acclaims Rangers squad as reign is extended

Graeme Murty’s sojourn as Rangers caretaker manager has invested the term with unexpected substance, as confirmed by the latest extension to his Ibrox duties. The Under-20s coach took charge of the first team for six games after Mark Warburton left in February and had supervised another half dozen following Pedro Caixinha’s sacking, when he got the call on Thursday night to inform him that he would remain in place until New Year, by which point he will have been in charge for 18 matches. Given that Caixinha lasted all of 26 games, if Rangers should still have Celtic in sight come the start of January, Murty will be entitled to claim the lion’s share of credit, although, typically, he cited the contribution of others when the matter was raised. “Players might have something to do with it,” he said. “I’d contend that if we are in that sort of shape, our squad and our history would dictate that’s where we should be. “I couldn’t have imagined it. I couldn’t have seen myself in this position. I don’t like talking too much about myself, but the reality is I have a big job ahead of me and so do the players and theirs doesn’t get any easier. “The speculation around the club could lead to them losing focus. “It’s our job to make sure the players don’t do that, that they concentrate and do their jobs on the pitch, and meet the standards they reached against Aberdeen [in the 2-1 win].” The Ibrox directors have been condemned and scorned for the absence of a fall-back plan when they were rebuffed by Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes on Thursday. That they were all but certain that McInnes would accept is not in doubt, although one can only speculate about the source of their confidence. One Ibrox insider told The Sunday Telegraph: “Something spooked him at the last minute”. The Rangers board’s belief that McInnes would be their 18th manager and their complete surprise at his decision was reflected in Dave King’s scarcely disguised sarcasm when he retorted that “moving to a massive club like Rangers is a big step with concomitant risk”. The club’s longer-term playing issues are, however, being addressed as best they can be in the absence of a manager and targets have been drawn up for the January transfer window, according to Murty. “Identifying players is down to the new scouting department that’s been put together expressly for that purpose,” he said. “Those things will be collated by Mark Allen [director of football]. As to who the personnel are I’m not sure yet, but my thoughts have been asked for and given freely. “That’s how we operate. The person who comes in as permanent manager will get the benefit of that, albeit he might want some input also. “Behind the scenes, we’ve been compiling databases for the incoming manager. They list physical load, physical capacity, even their body comps, to make sure the manager coming in has the clearest physical picture of the playing staff available. Derek McInnes rejected the Rangers job Credit: PA “We’ve looked at all the players and I’ve a very good idea of who is capable of doing what at what stage – and where they are in terms of their physical cycle. So, planning an advance schedule from that or a longer schedule from that is easier than it would be if we didn’t have a sensational staff behind the scenes.” On the field, meanwhile, Rangers’ inconsistency denied them the possibility of going top of the Premiership on Saturday night, a position which would have been attainable had they preceded their back-to-back league victories over Aberdeen with the same against Hamilton and Dundee, games which were lost. “We dropped two points against Kilmarnock as well,” added Murty. “We’ve not managed to sustain our intensity or our levels and it’s our job collectively as staff and as players to make sure we do that. If we do that it lifts the fans, and makes Ibrox an intimidating place to come and play. “We need to do that we can push on from what’s been a challenging time.” The challenge, though, continued on Saturday at home to Ross County, who went ahead after 10 minutes when Craig Curran headed past goalkeeper Wes Foderingham. Rangers equalised on the hour through striker Alfredo Morelos before defender Danny Wilson headed home with seven minutes remaining to ensure a third successive victory for the first time in a year. At Rugby Park, doubles from Kris Boyd and Eamonn Brophy, plus Niall Keown’s own goal, saw Kilmarnock win 5-1 against Partick Thistle, for whom Chris Erskine netted. Motherwell’s tough spell was extended when, after two defeats and a draw against Celtic, they lost to a deflected Kyle Lafferty shot for Hearts at Tynecastle. Stefan Scougall’s strike gave St Johnstone all three points against Hamilton at New Douglas Park.

Graeme Murty acclaims Rangers squad as reign is extended

Graeme Murty’s sojourn as Rangers caretaker manager has invested the term with unexpected substance, as confirmed by the latest extension to his Ibrox duties. The Under-20s coach took charge of the first team for six games after Mark Warburton left in February and had supervised another half dozen following Pedro Caixinha’s sacking, when he got the call on Thursday night to inform him that he would remain in place until New Year, by which point he will have been in charge for 18 matches. Given that Caixinha lasted all of 26 games, if Rangers should still have Celtic in sight come the start of January, Murty will be entitled to claim the lion’s share of credit, although, typically, he cited the contribution of others when the matter was raised. “Players might have something to do with it,” he said. “I’d contend that if we are in that sort of shape, our squad and our history would dictate that’s where we should be. “I couldn’t have imagined it. I couldn’t have seen myself in this position. I don’t like talking too much about myself, but the reality is I have a big job ahead of me and so do the players and theirs doesn’t get any easier. “The speculation around the club could lead to them losing focus. “It’s our job to make sure the players don’t do that, that they concentrate and do their jobs on the pitch, and meet the standards they reached against Aberdeen [in the 2-1 win].” The Ibrox directors have been condemned and scorned for the absence of a fall-back plan when they were rebuffed by Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes on Thursday. That they were all but certain that McInnes would accept is not in doubt, although one can only speculate about the source of their confidence. One Ibrox insider told The Sunday Telegraph: “Something spooked him at the last minute”. The Rangers board’s belief that McInnes would be their 18th manager and their complete surprise at his decision was reflected in Dave King’s scarcely disguised sarcasm when he retorted that “moving to a massive club like Rangers is a big step with concomitant risk”. The club’s longer-term playing issues are, however, being addressed as best they can be in the absence of a manager and targets have been drawn up for the January transfer window, according to Murty. “Identifying players is down to the new scouting department that’s been put together expressly for that purpose,” he said. “Those things will be collated by Mark Allen [director of football]. As to who the personnel are I’m not sure yet, but my thoughts have been asked for and given freely. “That’s how we operate. The person who comes in as permanent manager will get the benefit of that, albeit he might want some input also. “Behind the scenes, we’ve been compiling databases for the incoming manager. They list physical load, physical capacity, even their body comps, to make sure the manager coming in has the clearest physical picture of the playing staff available. Derek McInnes rejected the Rangers job Credit: PA “We’ve looked at all the players and I’ve a very good idea of who is capable of doing what at what stage – and where they are in terms of their physical cycle. So, planning an advance schedule from that or a longer schedule from that is easier than it would be if we didn’t have a sensational staff behind the scenes.” On the field, meanwhile, Rangers’ inconsistency denied them the possibility of going top of the Premiership on Saturday night, a position which would have been attainable had they preceded their back-to-back league victories over Aberdeen with the same against Hamilton and Dundee, games which were lost. “We dropped two points against Kilmarnock as well,” added Murty. “We’ve not managed to sustain our intensity or our levels and it’s our job collectively as staff and as players to make sure we do that. If we do that it lifts the fans, and makes Ibrox an intimidating place to come and play. “We need to do that we can push on from what’s been a challenging time.” The challenge, though, continued on Saturday at home to Ross County, who went ahead after 10 minutes when Craig Curran headed past goalkeeper Wes Foderingham. Rangers equalised on the hour through striker Alfredo Morelos before defender Danny Wilson headed home with seven minutes remaining to ensure a third successive victory for the first time in a year. At Rugby Park, doubles from Kris Boyd and Eamonn Brophy, plus Niall Keown’s own goal, saw Kilmarnock win 5-1 against Partick Thistle, for whom Chris Erskine netted. Motherwell’s tough spell was extended when, after two defeats and a draw against Celtic, they lost to a deflected Kyle Lafferty shot for Hearts at Tynecastle. Stefan Scougall’s strike gave St Johnstone all three points against Hamilton at New Douglas Park.

Celtic's form has James Forrest dreaming of a European run to rival 2003

James Forrest played for Celtic last time they were in a European final, when the Hoops lost 3-2 to Porto after extra time in Seville in 2003. To be more precise, while Martin O’Neill’s men were edged out of the silverware by a Porto side under the leadership of Jose Mourinho, Forrest was featuring as an 11-year-old for one of the Parkhead club’s boys’ teams. On Tuesday night, however, Celtic can secure European football after Christmas providing that they get any result better than a 4-0 defeat at home to Anderlecht in their final Champions League group match. Brendan Rodgers’ players would then go into the Europa League, a tournament which offers them the chance of progress at that level into the spring of next year. Celtic would require a degree of luck in the draw because although there are no teams of the calibre of Paris Saint-Germain – who have beaten them 5-0 in Glasgow and 7-1 in France in their Champions League group – the Europa League knockout stage will still feature the likes of Arsenal, AC Milan, Lazio, Diamo Kiev, Olympique Marseille and Villareal. Still, Hoops fans nourish hope of a campaign that would rekindle memories of the adventures of their 2003 side, who prevailed against Blackburn Rovers, Celta Vigo, Stuttgart, Liverpool and Boavista to reach the final, to which they were followed by an estimated 80,000 supporters, fewer than half of whom had tickets for the match. “It was a memorable year, a special season,” said Forrest. “They did really well, they got on a run, but back then, they were probably just taking it a game at time. I don't think they would have predicted that they would get to the final. Celtic's players trudge off after defeat in the 2003 Uefa Cup final Credit: REx feautures “We’re the same. I don't think anybody has really thought about the Europa League. At the start of the season the goal was to get into the Champions League and we wanted to be in Europe after Christmas. “Now we’re coming to the last Champions League game at home at Celtic Park and we want to make sure we have a good result and a positive performance and take it from there, game by game.” Forrest has enjoyed a buoyant campaign so far. Never a prolific scorer, his most productive season was 2011-12, when he netted nine times in 43 appearances. This time around he is on 10 goals from 32 outings and his strike for the opener in last Sunday’s Betfred Scottish League Cup final helped ensure him a 12th medal to show for his nine years at the club. “I’ve matched Bobby Lennox now by scoring in three League Cup Finals, which is great,” said the 26-year-old. “But I don't sit and count the medals. At Celtic, when you play in a final, you've normally got a game a few days later, so you just win it and move on. Celtic breezed past Motherwell Credit: Getty images “And you never want to stop with what you've got. I've been in the first team for seven years and only Broony (Scott Brown) is still here from when I made my debut. “The number of players who have come and gone is scary, but it's gone quite quickly. There have been ups and downs but it's been really enjoyable. “It’s hard to imagine myself playing for any other club. I've been here since I was nine years old so anywhere but Celtic would feel strange. “All my medals are in my flat. I'm not one for framing stuff but it's great to have so many – and the most important one is the next.” Rodgers made six changes to his team with Anderlecht in mind next week Credit: Getty images Forrest was on the bench for the third meeting on the bounce of Celtic and Motherwell. With the Anderlecht tie in mind, Rodgers made no fewer than six changes to the team who drew 1-1 at Fir Park in midweek. One of the incomers, Odsonne Edouard, made an immediate impact with two first half goals and only a very slow offside decision denied Tom Rogic another when he was put clear by Olivier Ntcham just before the break. Elliot Frear reduced the deficit against the run of play in the second half before Forrest arrived as a sub to net Celtic’s third and fifth in the 76th minute, before Odsonne secured his hat-trick from close range. Elsewhere, there were victories for Kilmarnock at St Johnstone, Dundee away to Ross County and Hibernian against Partick Thistle at Firhill, while Hearts drew at home with Hamilton. Sunday sees attention switch to Pittodrie, where Aberdeen meet Rangers for the second time in four days, the Dons having lost 3-0 at Ibrox on Wednesday. The game will proceed against a background of intense speculation within Scottish football that Derek McInnes, the Aberdeen manager, remains Rangers’ principal target to replace Pedro Caixinha, who was sacked in October and that developments could occur as early as Monday.